
Colonial Pipeline CEO admits to authorizing $4.4 million ransomware payment
CNN
Colonial Pipeline CEO Joseph Blount said he authorized a ransom payment of $4.4 million in response to a cyberattack on the company's network earlier this month, according to The Wall Street Journal, which published an interview with the CEO Wednesday.
This is the first public announcement by the company that a ransom had been paid and comes after repeated refusals from the company to discuss the payment, which Blount called "a highly controversial decision." "It was the right thing to do for the country," he told The Wall Street Journal. "I didn't make it lightly. I will admit that I wasn't comfortable seeing money go out the door to people like this."
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