May 14, 2021 Major U.S. oil pipeline system Colonial Pipeline paid a requested 75 bitcoin ransom to hackers who took control of its data last week. Colonial Pipeline has paid 75 BTC (around $5 million at the time of writing) to recover data stolen in a ransomware attack committed by hacker group DarkSide, reported . Colonial is the largest pipeline system for refined oil products in the U.S. The system runs from Texas to New Jersey and spans 5,500 miles, transporting around 45% of fuel consumed on the East Coast. However, the ransomware attack forced the company to shut down the entire pipeline, halting its distribution services to many U.S. states and triggering gas price rises across the country.