Posted by The United States government has set up a whopping $10million bounty (£7.4m) for anyone with information that could lead to the whereabouts of the leader of a hacking group known as DarkSide.
Earlier In May, a DarkSide ransomware attack shut down a vital 5,500-mile-long fuel pipeline on the east coast of the US.
The pipeline carries 45% of the fuel used on the east coast.
The bounty is offered for information which can lead to the “identification or location of any individuals” in a leadership position with DarkSide.
A ransomware attack could be defined as set of computer viruses that threaten to delete your files unless you pay a ransom.
Tech experts worldwide have warned that ransomware is the fastest growing form of computer virus.
Like other computer viruses, it usually finds its way onto a device by exploiting a security hole in vulnerable software or by tricking somebody into installing it.
Also, a separate $5m reward has been offered for information leading to the arrest of anybody “conspiring to participate” in a DarkSide ransomware attack.
The cyber-attack caused fuel shortages after the Colonial Pipeline company shut down its operations for several days.It eventually paid the $4.4m ransom in Bitcoin.