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SWIFT along with Accenture have published a paper that highlights the importance of CBDCs in cross-border payments. This is a part of the broader digital asset innovation that will help to develop a better financial infrastructure for the digitally connected world.
Ransomware has become nuances for companies internationally. The criminals make the victim vulnerable to pay the ransom and blackmails them of releasing the data on the servers. As per the report by Chainalysis, ransomware crimes have increased to 92% this year.
- In the Jan-March quarter of 2021, an average of $54,000 has been paid by the victims
- ransomware related crimes had stolen around $81 million in crypto assets in 2021
Ransomware attacks are more dangerous, sophisticated, and more damaging to any business than anything. According to Chainalysis, a cryptocurrency research firm’s report, ransomware-related crimes had stolen around $81 million in crypto assets in 2021. In 2020, it was recorded at $406 million.
The report further suggests that the actual amount could far exceed these figures. Since ransomware-related addresses are appearing one after another, some companies often hide their damage.
Colonial Pipeline is a fresh example of a ransomware attack. The company was hit by the profusely and had to shut down the petroleum product aorta on the east coast of the United States. The company eventually paid crypto assets to a group using ransomware from the Russia-based group Dark Side.
President Biden had a strong reason to believe that the criminals from Russia were behind the Colonial Pipeline attack. He warned Moscow to take action against this crime.
RaaS-nature of cause for damages
The report by Chainlaysis has also highlighted that ransomware as a service (Raas) has contributed to the explosive growth of damage. Under this, the software is given on rent to make a profit. As per the report, most of the damage was conducted by Dark Side in the first quarter of 2021. The damage was caused by RaaS.
During the first quarter of 2021, victims had paid an average of $54,000 and $46,000 in the last quarter of 2020, $12,000 in the fourth quarter of 2019. It means that the damages have occurred to the excess of $10 million once in a quarter.
BTC was used to pay the ransoms mostly. As per the report, the masterminds paid over 9% of the damage to fraudsters, hacking tools, service providers, and professional negotiators last quarter to support their activities. However, the flow of these funds was only 3% in the first quarter of 2020.
It is estimated that more than 75% of the ransomware damage went to crypto exchanges.
Ransomware is present since the decade, but it has exploded only in the last some years, with the rise of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. The cryptocurrencies are difficult to trace and can be transferred electronically without the interference of any financial regulator.
The pandemic has increased such types of attacks as criminals target online systems that people relied on to continue their businesses.
Changing the trait of business
Most of the attacks that have happened have been due to the change in how the hackers handle the business of ransomware. Dark Side is one of the many groups that started operations as a sort of service provider to other hackers, who used its malware to extort targets. In recent times these groups have expanded their horizons beyond encrypting data. Now they threaten to release the data, which is a double-edged sword for the victim.
Ransomware has become a national threat from an economic threat now.
Most of the ransomware attacks happen from Russia, especially in cryptocurrency crimes. As per the report by Chainalysis, the Russians occupy a big share in the ransomware crimes.
Andrew is a blockchain developer who developed his interest in cryptocurrencies while pursuing his post-graduation major in blockchain development. He is a keen observer of details and shares his passion for writing, along with coding. His backend knowledge about blockchain helps him give a unique perspective to his writing skills, and a reliable craft at explaining the concepts such as blockchain programming, languages and token minting. He also frequently shares technical details and performance indicators of ICOs and IDOs.
