May 12, 2021

The ransomware gang DarkSide said in its latest “press release” that its organization is “apolitical” and is not affiliated with any government, and will assess all targets before they are attacked.

The statement comes after DarkSide launched an attack on the Colonial Pipeline, the largest fuel pipeline in the United States.

The attack resulted in the company taking many of its systems offline in order to contain the threat and thus render the company’s pipeline system unusable.

In the “press release,” DarkSide noted that the purpose of their organization is to make money and not create problems for society. Considering the DarkSide gang structure, the gang works as ransomware-as-a-service, which consists of two groups of people. One group is seen as the main operators and developers of ransomware and the other is the affiliated gangs, which are recruited to hack networks and use the ransomware.

Under this arrangement, the core operators earn about 20-30% of all ransom payments, with the rest going to the affiliate.

For more information, read the original story in Bleeping Computer.