In 2024, ransomware payments reached $813.55 million, reflecting a significant drop of 35% from the previous year. The first half of the year saw nearly $460 million in payments, bolstered by a record $75 million to the Dark Angels group. However, the second half experienced a sharp decline of 79%, attributed to law enforcement actions against key groups like LockBit and BlackCat. Despite over 50 new ransomware leak sites appearing, fewer victims paid ransoms as organizations improved their recovery capabilities without yielding to hackers' demands.
With payments in H1 2024 totaling nearly $460 million, Chainalysis expected the total by the end of the year to surpass the amount paid out to cybercriminals in 2023.
The current ransomware ecosystem is infused with a lot of newcomers who tend to focus efforts on the small- to mid-size markets, which in turn are associated with more modest ransom demands.
Collection
[
|
...
]