One password with no MFA. That’s how the DarkSide ransomware gang got into Colonial Pipeline in May 2021 and shut down America’s largest fuel pipeline for days.
What happened (verified):
• May 7, 2021: Colonial Pipeline hit by DarkSide ransomware; pipeline shut down, East Coast gas shortages
• Entry point: a legacy VPN account protected by a single password, no multi-factor authentication (CEO Joseph Blount, U.S. Senate testimony, June 2021)
• Ransom: ~75 bitcoin paid; the U.S. Justice Department seized back 63.7 BTC (DOJ, June 7, 2021)
Protect yourself: turn on MFA everywhere, delete accounts nobody uses, never reuse passwords.
Sources:
U.S. Department of Justice press release, June 7, 2021 – justice.gov
Senate Homeland Security Committee hearing, June 8, 2021
Exploit Files: how hackers actually did it. New breakdown every day on The Exploit Lab.
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