[Dismas]

Colonial paid the 75 BTC bounty, which at the time was worth ~$5 million. While it's not advisable to not pay ransoms, sometimes it works out. If the perpetrator is otherwise honest/professional, it's possible they'll part ways once paid.

Colonial Pipeline paid the hackers who shut down some of its networks nearly $5 million in ransom, a U.S. official familiar with the matter said Thursday.

News of the payment was first reported by Bloomberg. The U.S. official did not say how or when the company paid.

Colonial, which operates the country’s largest fuel pipeline, announced it had been hacked Friday, and shut down all four of its major pipelines that serve the Eastern and Southeastern United States as a precaution. Gas prices rose, and some stations ran out of fuel. The Department of Transportation issued an emergency order allowing truckers driving fuel in affected states to work longer hours than federal regulations normally allow.

Read More: https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/security/co...l-n1267286