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Despite Catastrophic Hacks, Ransomware Payments Dropped Dramatically Last Year
Ransomware gangs continued to wreak havoc in 2024, but new research shows that the amounts victims paid these cybercriminals fell by hundreds of millions of dollars.
She suggests that dropoff is likely due to law enforcement takedowns and disruptions, some of which had delayed effects that weren't immediately apparent in the first half of the year as ransomware victims and the cybersecurity industry grappled with catastrophic attacks. Two months later, in February of 2024, the UK’s National Crime Agency carried out an operation against the notorious ransomware group Lockbit, hijacking its infrastructure, seizing its cryptocurrency wallets, taking down its dark-web sites, and even obtaining information about its members and cybercriminal partners. In addition to major law enforcement actions at the beginning of 2024, Chainalysis attributes the decline in payments during the second half of the year to heightened global awareness about the threat of ransomware, leading to more mature defenses and response plans within governments and other institutions.
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