Security News > 2021 > October > US gov claims ransomware 'earned' $590m in the first half of 2021 alone – mostly in Bitcoin

Ransomware extracted at least $590 million for the miscreants who create and distribute it in the first half of 2021 alone - more than the $416 million tracked in all of 2020, according to the US government's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.

FinCEN analysed 635 SARs, of which 458 described transactions reported between 1 January 2021 and 30 June 2021 and the remainder reported older transactions later found to be suspicious.

The report identified 68 ransomware variants, and named REvil/Sodinokibi, Conti, DarkSide, Avaddon, and Phobos as the most common.

The median ransom identified was $148,000, but ransomware variants appear to have different pricing schemes to suit a range of budgets!

"SUEX has facilitated transactions involving illicit proceeds from at least eight ransomware variants," Treasury asserted.

"Analysis of known SUEX transactions shows that over 40 per cent of SUEX's known transaction history is associated with illicit actors" and the organisation was accused of "Providing material support to the threat posed by criminal ransomware actors".

News URL

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2021/10/18/fincen_ransomware_report/