In October 2020, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a lawsuit against these six Russian Sandworm hackers after a federal grand jury found that they deployed the NotPeya malware to harm U.S. and international entities.
The DOJ charged these Russian Sandworm hackers with seven counts of conspiracy to conduct computer fraud and abuse, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, damaging protected computers, and aggravated identity theft.
In November 2021, the State Department also offered a bounty of up to $10 million for tips leading to the identification or location of the leaders of DarkSide transnational organized crime group.
The DarkSide is a hacker group responsible for the ransomware attack on the Colonial pipeline in May 2021. The cyberattack resulted in the temporary shutdown of the pipeline that carries 45% of fuel supplies on the East Coast. The shutdown caused fuel shortages, gas price increases, and panic buying.
Following the social problems caused by the ransomware attack, DarkSide apologized and clarified that it is not linked to any government or does not participate in geopolitics. The hacker group also stated that its “goal is to make money” and promised to “avoid social consequences in the future.”
