What happened

The DarkSide criminal group compromised Colonial Pipeline's IT systems using stolen VPN credentials, prompting the company to proactively shut down its entire fuel pipeline network — the largest refined-products pipeline in the US, supplying roughly 45% of East Coast fuel — as a precaution, though operational control systems were not directly compromised. The shutdown triggered panic buying and localised fuel shortages across the southeastern US; Colonial paid DarkSide a $4.4 million ransom and restarted the pipeline on 13 May. CISA and the FBI issued a joint advisory on the DarkSide ransomware-as-a-service variant.

When cited sources give different casualty, damage or spill figures for this event, they’re reported side by side above rather than merged into one number. See how confidence levels work.