A brand new report by blockchain analytics agency CipherTrace highlights the rising function that privacy-focused cryptocurrencies similar to Monero are taking part in within the rising tide of ransomware.
“Present Developments in Ransomware” delves into developments noticed throughout 2021 however was solely launched this week. The agency revealed there was virtually a 500% enhance in “double extortion” ransomware assaults from 2020 to 2021. These are cyber assaults through which malicious actors steal a sufferer’s delicate knowledge along with encrypting it.
The report echoes related findings from analytics agency Chainalysis, which reported that total ransomware crypto funds topped $600 million for the interval.
The brand new analysis discovered that final yr noticed growing calls for for ransom fee in Monero (XMR), with attackers including premiums for funds made in Bitcoin (BTC) starting from 10 to twenty%. At the least 22 ransomware strains (from an incomplete listing of greater than 50) solely settle for Monero (XMR) funds, and at the least seven of them settle for each BTC and XMR, it added.
“Greater costs for BTC are most definitely seen by the ransomware actors as a premium for coping with the elevated danger in utilizing an simply traceable cryptocurrency like BTC.”
The report cited a Russian-speaking ransomware group known as Everest Group, which claimed to have hacked the USA Authorities in October final yr. In accordance with CipherTrace, Everest Ransomware is “at the moment attempting to promote the information for $500,000 in XMR.”
One other instance was the Russian DarkSide group accountable for the U.S. Colonial Pipeline assault in Might 2021. The ransom could possibly be paid in both XMR or BTC, however the price was larger for the latter.
The REvil ransomware group additionally switched from demanding BTC to demanding funds in XMR solely in early 2020.
Associated: Don’t blame crypto for ransomware
Monero is a privacy-based cryptocurrency that makes use of a mixture of applied sciences similar to mixers, ring signatures and stealth addresses that obfuscate sending and receiving wallets. This is the reason it has grow to be the first asset of alternative for these demanding ransoms.
For that purpose, Monero and different extremely privacy-focused cryptocurrencies similar to Sprint (DASH) and Zcash (ZEC) have been delisted by some exchanges in nations similar to the UK and Japan.
The Monero blockchain can be onerous forked in July to additional improve its anonymity and privateness properties.