Ransomware victim give out 35 % less to hack group in 2024 compare to 2023 even as the overall bit of attacks increase , according to a report by the blockchain enquiry firm Chainalysis .
The gravid free fall — from $ 1.25 billion in ransom payments in 2023 to $ 813.55 million last yr — came as external law enforcement operation disrupted some major hack groups and others abruptly closed up shop .
In February the FBI , U.K. National Crime Agency , and other police bureau madeseveral arrestsand attach servers and websites used by the ransomware gang Lockbit , which is believe to have been responsible for thousands of flak that cost victims more than $ 120 million .
Ransomware was less lucrative in 2024 compared to years past.© JL Stock/Shutterstock
Not long after , another fecund ransomware grouping , known as Blackcat or ALPHV , abruptlystopped operate . A message was post to its website saying that it had been seized by law enforcement , but some of those agency traverse their amour and expert suspected it may have been an exit cozenage .
Chainalysis discover that the gap is growing between how much money aggressor demand in telephone exchange for relinquishing compromised data and how much victims actually pay . “ Reporting from incident reception house intimate a legal age of clients opt not to ante up altogether , ” grant to the theme .
Reliable data on the number of ransomware attacks and their full impact is hard to add up by . As Chainalysis noted , leak sites where hack group post about their successful infiltration are full of fancied or reprise incidents . And victim whose sensitive data has been compromise oftendownplay attacksand keep the details of payment negotiations undercover .
The $ 813.55 million paid out in 2024 was also less than ransomware victims pay out in 2020 and 2021 , according to Chainalysis , even though after the first half of the year the ransom sum was on track to transcend premature years . payment drop aggressively from July through December , which has become something of a pattern in recent days but was especially pronounced in 2024 .
“ The market never pass to the late status quo following the prostration of LockBit and BlackCat / ALPHV , ” Lizzie Cookson , elderly director of incident answer at Coveware , told Chainalysis . “ We saw a hike in lonesome actors , but we did not see any group(s ) swiftly ingest their mart share , as we had seen happen after prior high - visibility takedowns and closures . The current ransomware ecosystem is tincture with a lot of fledgling who tend to focus drive on the small- to mid - sizing food market , which in turn are associated with more modest ransom demands . ”
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