The U.S. Department of State has offered a reward of up to $10 million for information leading to the identification or location of any key members of the DarkSide ransomware group.
In addition, the Department of State has offered a reward of up to $5 million for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of any individual conspiring to participate in or attempting to participate in a DarkSide ransomware attack.
DarkSide operated what’s known as a “ransomware as a service” (RaaS) business model, which means the hackers develop and market ransomware tools and sell them to other threat actors who then carry out attacks.
The DarkSide ransomware group came under scrutiny from the U.S. authorities and law enforcement agencies after the attack on the U.S. energy firm Colonial Pipeline in May 2021, which forced the company to temporarily shut down the 5,500-mile pipeline that carries 45% of the fuel used on the East Coast of the United States.
The DarkSide gang shut down their operations a week after the Colonial Pipeline incident following a cyberattack due to which they lost control of their servers and funds made from ransomware payments. According to security researches, the gang received a total of $90 million in Bitcoin ransom payment before they shut down their operation.
The group relaunched the operation in July 2021 under a new name of BlackMatter, however, earlier this month the group announced that they are shutting down, citing the pressure from the authorities.