Ransomware attacks and similar extortion schemes have earned an estimated $144 million over the past 7 years.

The FBI estimates that most of the ransom was paid in Bitcoin (BTC) and directed directly to mixers or exchanges.

Most ransomware demands payment in Bitcoin

File-locking and ransomware attacks have escalated and are one of the biggest Internet threats in the past few years.

Many ransomware has shut down airports and hospitals, and entered older, vulnerable machines.

Most ransomware versions share a message that requires you to pay bitcoins to unlock all files.

Despite the advice not to pay, it turns out that several targets actually sent bitcoin to extortionists.

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Joel Decapua, the supervisor of the FBI, shared what the US agency discovered during a conference RSA 2020.

He explained that any bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies acquired immediately went to currency mixers, or were sold on exchanges.

But there is also a strange reason for many to pay the ransom, especially from the side of the affected companies, which later apply for insurance compensation.

Nobody wants to pay the extortionists the ransom.

Joel Decapua explained:

I think a lot of companies are getting insurance now.

They say well, if we get ransom, we’ll only stick to what our insurance company wants us to do…

They can say it was not their choice to pay the ransom, because as I said, no one wants to pay the ransom.

So I think since the ransom payments are insurable, I think it caused more ransom payments to be paid.

Ransomware attacks have been linked to both Russian and North Korean hackers.

The attack message usually contains the Bitcoin address and instructions on how to obtain and send the cryptocurrency.

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However, paying the ransom on some occasions may leave files locked, thus it is advised to avoid paying.

The $144 million paid in ransom payments is fairly small compared to exchange hacks and crypto scams in general.

Ransom and Bitcoin payment, spread a negative message about cryptocurrencies as a tool for illegal activities.

Ransomware demands grew exponentially during 2019, based on data from Kaspersky’s periodic Cyber ​​Security Report.

Ransomware spreads on dark web sites, offering new forms of security software and even file-spreading affiliate programs.

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