Fewer Companies Are Paying Ransoms To Hackers, Researchers Say

Fewer companies that are infected with ransomware are coughing up extortion payments demanded by hackers, according to new research from Chainalysis. From a report: In findings published on Thursday, the blockchain forensics firm estimated that ransom payments -- which are almost always paid in cryptocurrency -- fell to $456.8 million in 2022 from $765.6 million in 2021, a 40% drop. "That doesn't mean attacks are down, or at least not as much as the drastic dropoff in payments would suggest," according to the report. "Instead, we believe that much of the decline is due to victim organizations increasingly refusing to pay ransomware attackers." Chainalysis also said the actual totals could be much higher, as there are cryptocurrency addresses controlled by ransomware attackers that its researchers haven't yet identified.

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