Ransom Payment
Ransomware payment rate drops to record low as attacks surge
The number of ransomware victims paying threat actors has dropped to 28% last year, an all-time low, despite a significant increase in the number of claimed attacks. A downward payment trend has been observed for the past four consecutive years by the blockchain intelligence platform Chainalysis. At the moment, the total of on-chain ransomware payments in 2025 stands […]
FinCEN says ransomware gangs extorted over $2.1B from 2022 to 2024
A new report by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) shows that ransomware activity peaked in 2023 before falling in 2024, following a series of law enforcement actions targeting the ALPHV/BlackCat and LockBit ransomware gangs. From thousands of Bank Secrecy Act filings, the report documents 4,194 ransomware incidents between January 2022 and December 2024. These reports […]
Ransomware profits drop as victims stop paying hackers
The number of victims paying ransomware threat actors has reached a new low, with just 23% of the breached companies giving in to attackers’ demands. With some exceptions, the decline in payment resolution rates continues the trend that Coveware has observed for the past six years. In the first quarter of 2024, the payment percentage was […]
US govt seizes $1 million in crypto from BlackSuit ransomware gang
The U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) seized cryptocurrency and digital assets worth $1,091,453 at the time of confiscation, on January 9, 2024, from the BlackSuit ransomware gang. The authorities tracked the crypto as the cybercriminals moved it repeatedly across virtual currency exchange accounts, depositing and withdrawing it to obfuscate the trace. Eventually, the amount was […]
DOJ investigates ex-ransomware negotiator over extortion kickbacks
An ex-ransomware negotiator is under criminal investigation by the Department of Justice for allegedly working with ransomware gangs to profit from extortion payment deals. The suspect is a former employee of DigitalMint, a Chicago-based incident response and digital asset services company that specializes in ransomware negotiation and facilitating cryptocurrency payments to receive a decryptor or prevent […]
Ransomware payments fell by 35% in 2024, totalling $813,550,000
Payments to ransomware actors decreased 35% year-over-year in 2024, totaling $813.55 million, down from $1.25 billion recorded in 2023. Additionally, only about 30% of victims engaged in negotiations with ransomware actors ended up paying any ransom to them. These figures are reported by blockchain intelligence firm Chainalysis, underlining a significant decline in an otherwise record-breaking year for […]
American Radio Relay League confirms $1 million ransom payment
An amateur radio nonprofit based in Newington said it has paid $1 million to decrypt its computer servers after a ransomware attack that started in May. ARRL, The National Association for Amateur Radio, said its network was compromised by hackers who used information purchased on the dark web. The hack affected everything from desktop and laptop […]