US seizes $2.3 mln in Bitcoin paid to Colonial Pipeline hackers

WASHINGTON - The Justice Department on Monday said it recovered some $2.3 million worth of cryptocurrency ransomware paid by Colonial Pipeline Co, in a crackdown on hackers who launched the most disruptive U.S. cyberattack on record.

Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said investigators had seized 63.7 Bitcoins, now valued at about $2.3 million, paid by Colonial after last month's hack of its systems that led to massive shortages at U.S. East Coast gas stations. The Justice Department has "found and recaptured the majority" of the ransom paid by Colonial, Monaco said.