New data from market intelligence platform Chainalysis shows that ransomware attacks reemerged in 2023, extorting more than $1 billion from investors throughout the year.
In a new blog post, Chainalysis says that ransomware attacks will increase across the board in 2023 – and the company expects this to only increase.
“Ransomware payments surpassed $1 billion in 2023, the highest ever observed. Although 2022 saw a decline in ransomware payment volume, the overall trend line from 2019 to 2023 indicates that ransomware is an escalating problem…
In 2023, the ransomware landscape saw a major escalation in the frequency, size and scope of attacks. Ransomware attacks have been carried out by a variety of actors, from large syndicates to smaller groups and individuals – and experts say their numbers are increasing.”
According to data from cybersecurity firm Recorded Note, 538 new variants of ransomware have emerged in 2023, indicating an increase in the number of groups or individuals perpetrating these variants.
As Allan Liska, a cybersecurity expert working for Recorded Note, says according to Chainalysis:
“One key thing we are seeing is the astronomical growth in the number of threat actors conducting ransomware attacks.”
Chainalysis also says bad actors are reusing the codes of older ransomware variants to create new ones.
“We can also see significant differences in the victimization strategies of the major ransomware types in the graph below, which shows the average ransom size of each type versus the frequency of attacks.
The graph also illustrates numerous newcomers and offshoots in 2023, who we know often reuse code from existing tribes. This signals an increasing number of new players, attracted by the potential for high profits and lower barriers to entry.”
The market intelligence firm notes that the preferred method for covering up stolen funds changed in 2023 as platforms began to increase their defenses.
“Centralized exchanges and mixers consistently represent a significant portion of transactions, indicating that these are the preferred methods for laundering ransomware payments. However, this year we saw the embrace of new money laundering services, including bridges, instant exchangers and gambling services.
We believe this is due to takedowns disrupting preferred ransomware laundering methods, the implementation by some services of more robust AML/KYC policies, and also as an indication of the unique money laundering preferences of new ransomware actors. ”
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