August 19, 2024 at 04:20PM
In the first half of 2024, ransomware victims paid $459.8 million, setting the stage for a new record if payments continue. This is 2% higher than 2023, despite law enforcement operations disrupting ransomware-as-a-service. Large organizations are targeted for larger payments and data theft. Ransomware payment inflows have increased, but total payment events have declined. Stolen cryptocurrency inflow has doubled.
After reviewing the meeting notes, here are the key takeaways:
1. Ransomware payments in 2024 have already surpassed the previous year’s record, with victims paying approximately $459,800,000 in the first half of the year. This sets the stage for 2024 to potentially become the highest-grossing year yet for ransomware payments.
2. The increase in ransomware payments is attributed to ransomware gangs targeting larger organizations and demanding larger payments in exchange for decryptors and promises not to leak stolen data.
3. The median ransom payment has significantly increased, moving from under $199,000 in early 2023 to $1,500,000 in June 2024, indicating a clear targeting of bigger organizations by ransomware actors.
4. While the number of confirmed ransomware attacks has grown by 10% year over year in 2024, there is a positive trend showing fewer organizations succumbing to the extortion and choosing to pay the ransom.
5. The total ransomware payment events have declined by 27.27% year over year, indicating that payment rates are still going down.
6. Additionally, the meeting notes indicate an increase in the inflow of stolen cryptocurrency, doubling year over year from $857 million to $1.58 billion by the end of July 2024. The average value of cryptocurrency stolen per heist has also increased by approximately 80%.
7. Despite the increase in absolute numbers, illicit on-chain activity has dropped by 20% compared to 2023, suggesting that legitimate cryptocurrency use is growing at a faster rate.
These takeaways provide insight into the evolving trends in ransomware payments and cryptocurrency-related cybercrime.