Criminals have pocketed at least $457 million in ransomeware attacks over the past year. So says Chainanalysis, a blockchain analytics company. The actual damage is much greater, the analysis company stresses. Not all crypto addresses to which victims transfer ransoms are known.
Available data shows, according to Chainanalysis, that most ransomware groups send victims' ransoms to well-known, centralized crypto exchanges to launder. In 2021, 39 percent of perceived ransomware went to "mainstream" crypto exchanges, up from 48 percent last year. The share that went to "high-risk" crypto exchanges decreased from 11 percent to nearly 7 percent. The use of cryptomixers for ransom laundering increased: from almost 12 percent to 15 percent. Through cryptomixers, it is possible to donate money anonymously and to protect crypto currencies.
According to Chainanalysis, ransomware victims are less willing to pay in case they are victims of hostage software. On top of that, insurance companies are less inclined to insure the ransomware. They also impose stricter requirements on companies if they want to purchase insurance against a ransomware attack. Among other things, insurers require their customers to take backup measures.
Click here (1) for Chainanalysis's report.
blog.chainalysis.com/reports/crypto-ransomware-revenue-down-as-victims-refuse-to-pay/
