Colonial Pipeline paid $4.4 million in ransom to hackers after a cyberattack because it was "the right thing to do for the country," the company's head said, according to a Wall Street Journal report Wednesday. Joseph Blount told the newspaper that he recognized the payment was a "highly controversial decision," but that it was a necessary action given the debilitating impact of the multi-day shutdown on the United States. His remarks amount to the first public acknowledgement by the company of the ransom payment. jmb/st