Like many other sectors, the crypto industry has attracted the attention of hackers and cybercriminals. As a result, the growing number of ransomware attacks and money laundering activities prompted financial watchdogs to regulate the industry more tightly.
As global regulators seek transparency in the crypto sector, the annual report from on-chain analytics company Chainalysis on ransomware attacks highlights a significant decrease in the activity. According to the report, ransomware attacks will decrease by 40.58% in 2022.
More specifically, the total funds from ransomware that hackers received from victims dropped to $456 million in 2022 from $765.6 million in 2021. However, Chainalysis stated that the number could be higher because not all addresses associated with the attack have been identified.
Interestingly, the drop in revenue for cybercriminals is tied to regulators’ moves to push organizations to adopt stricter cybersecurity measures, not because hackers are limiting their efforts to target victims. The latter’s belief in choosing to fight criminals instead of paying them, has led to this downward trend.
The report reads:
That doesn’t mean the attack is down, or at least as drastic a dropoff in payments would suggest. However, we believe that much of the decline is due to the fact that victim organizations are increasingly unwilling to pay ransomware attackers.
Ransomware Payments Fall Significantly
Contrary to recent statistics, ransomware payment barriers are increasing. For example, 76% of victims complied with the attackers’ demands after a ransomware attack in 2019, while 24% of victims preferred to fight against bad actors, according to the report. While in 2022, 59% of victims refused to pay extortions, showing a change in trend.
In a ransomware attack, bad actors take control of a user’s system using malware software and then lock it down to deny access or threaten to leak sensitive information if the victim does not comply with the attacker’s demands. Cyber attacks usually involve digital extortion; Phishing attacks are the most widely used vector in this field.
In addition, the research firm revealed that criminals are using centralized exchanges, crypto mixers, and gambling websites to launder illegal funds from ransomware attacks in 2022. The report added;
The share of ransomware funds going to major exchanges increased from 39.3% in 2021 to 48.3% in 2022, while the share going to high-risk exchanges dropped from 10.9% to 6.7%.
In the report, Chainalysis found that the use of the Ethereum-based mixer tool Tornado Cash has increased from 11.6% to 15.0% in 2022. It is the same privacy tool that the US Treasury imposed sanctions on in August last year. Officials say criminals launder more than $7 billion using this protocol.
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