In 2024, ransomware payments decreased by 35% to around $813.55 million following a peak exceeding $1 billion in 2023. This decline stemmed from effective law enforcement interventions and a notable increase in organizational resilience, enabling victims to reject ransom demands. Although ransomware groups extracted slightly more early in the year, the second half saw a dramatic fall in payment activity. Additionally, the number of new data leak sites doubled, indicating a burgeoning challenge in cybersecurity, despite improved recovery strategies among organizations.
Hackers may also exaggerate or misrepresent the extent of a victim's compromised data, sometimes claiming to have breached a multinational corporation when they only breached a single branch.
According to Chainalysis, the gap between the amounts demanded by criminals and the amounts paid by victims increased to 53% in the second half of the year.
The drop in payments was largely driven by law enforcement actions and improved cyber hygiene, allowing more victims to refuse payment.
Despite fewer large payouts, ransomware actors extorted 2.38% more in the first half of 2024 compared to the same period in 2023.
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