Ransom refusals hit attackers where it hurts: 40% revenue drop in 2022 — Chainalysis
A number of industry pundits believe the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control’s threat to impose sanctions has victims thinking twice about paying up. Ransomware victims have seemingly had enough of the extortion, with ransomware revenues for attackers plummeting 40% to $456.8 million in 2022. Blockchain intelligence firm Chainalysis shared the data in a Jan. 19 report, noting that the figures don’t necessarily mean the number of attacks is down from the previous year. Instead, Chainalysis noted that companies have been forced to tighten cybersecurity measures, while ransom victims have been increasingly unwilling to pay attackers their demands. Total value extorted by ransomware attackers between 2017 and 2022. Source: Chainalysis. The findings formed part of Chainalysis’ 2023 Crypto Crime Report. Last year, revenue from Ransomware was a whopping $602 million at the time of the 2022 report, which was later tipped up to $766 million. Chainalysis added that the nature of blockchain m...