Schools, hospitals... lost more than 1 billion USD in ransom in 2023

The above information was reported by Business Standard citing a recent report from blockchain analysis company Chainalysis, headquartered in New York, USA.

The report claims that scammers are primarily targeting organizations such as hospitals, schools, and government agencies around the world. Ransom payments are expected to reach $1.1 billion in 2023, nearly double the $567 million in 2022.

A cryptocurrency ransomware group called "cl0p" has sabotaged file-sharing software MOVEit, earning nearly $100 million in ransom, analytics firm Chainalysis said.

Hundreds of organisations, including government agencies, the UK telecoms regulator and energy giant Shell.

The amount of ransom that attackers "pocket" is up to 1.1 billion USD in 2023, nearly double the figure of 567 million USD in 2022.

The report also said that losses from other cryptocurrency-related crimes such as fraud and cyberattacks decreased in 2023.

"Bitcoin has increased its value by 60% since late September last year to $43,134, benefiting from a new US cryptocurrency ETF and signs from central banks around the world about interest rate cuts," Chainalysis explained.

Chainalysis adds that the high profit potential and lower barriers to entry are factors that are attracting more and more new players to Bitcoin. This “big game hunting” has become the dominant strategy in recent years, with the majority of total ransom revenue coming from payments of $1 million or more.

Chainalysis’ figures underestimate the role of cryptocurrency in all crime because the money sent to wallets is already known to be illegal. That doesn’t include payments for crimes that don’t involve cryptocurrency, such as cryptocurrency used in drug deals.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/truong-hoc-benh-vien-mat-hon-1-ti-usd-tien-chuoc-nam-2023-196240209143538149.htm