

Ransomware attackers desire to obtain their ransom cost in a well-liked privateness token, Monero (XMR), as a consequence of its capability to obfuscate sending and receiving wallets, in accordance with a report by blockchain analytics agency, CipherTrace.
In the report titled Current Trends in Ransomware, the analytics agency highlighted the observable traits in ransomware assaults between 2020 and 2021. According to the agency, there was notable development in “double extortion assaults” inside the stated timeframe.
A double extortion assault happens in a scenario the place the hacker not solely steals his victims’ delicate knowledge but in addition encrypts it. This forces the sufferer to pay a ransom to entry the info even because the malicious actor should still have a duplicate.
Premium on Bitcoin for Ransomware The report stated most ransomware attackers obtain their cost in Monero, whereas those that settle for different digital property like Bitcoin often add 10% to twenty% premiums.
“Higher costs for BTC are most definitely seen by the ransomware actors as a premium for coping with the elevated threat in utilizing an simply traceable cryptocurrency like BTC.”
The report added that a minimum of 22 of the greater than 50 ransomware teams settle for solely Monero. An instance is the Everest Group, a Russian-speaking ransomware group that claimed it hacked the US authorities final yr and is “at the moment making an attempt to promote the info for $500,000 price of XMR.”
Another Russia-based REvil ransomware group that was dismantled earlier this yr additionally switched from receiving funds in BTC to XMR in 2020.
However, some teams nonetheless settle for funds in each Monero and BTC. The DarkSide group, which hacked Colonial Pipeline in May 2021, requested ransom in BTC or XMR.
Monero is planning a tough fork.The Monero neighborhood believes the coin’s privateness characteristic supplies its customers with utopian monetary freedom; a number of crypto exchanges have been pressured to delist these privateness cash due to their widespread use by malicious actors.
However, the de-listing is just not a deterrent to the venture builders who’re planning a tough fork in July, which might improve its chain ring measurement from 11 to 16.
This transfer would assist improve anonymity by making it more durable to reverse engineer transactions. The onerous fork additionally intends so as to add view tags to output, implement payment adjustments, and introduce bulletproof.
Oluwapelumi Adejumo Journalist at CryptonomieOluwapelumi is a believer within the transformative energy Bitcoin and the blockchain trade holds.
Posted In: Monero, Altcoins, Crime, Hacks Recent Hacks Stories What can we be taught from learning hacks? Revealing insights on privateness and cryptocurrency actions after the DAO 2016 hack John O’Donohue · 1 month in the past · 5 min learn Nervos Network companions up with Pastel to supply safety from NFT scams and hacks Ana Grabundzija · 3 months in the past · 2 min learn Coinbase studies 6,000 crypto account hacks after SMS flaw Shaurya Malwa · 7 months in the past · 2 min learn Get an Edge on the Crypto Market 👇Become a member of Cryptonomie Edge and entry our unique Discord neighborhood, extra unique content material and evaluation.
On-chain evaluation Price snapshots More context Join now for $19/month Explore all advantages Spend with the Crypto.com Visa Card and stand up to eight% again Buy Bitcoin and 80 cryptos with 0% charges Commitment to Transparency: The creator of this text is invested and/or has an curiosity in a number of property mentioned on this submit. Cryptonomie doesn’t endorse any venture or asset that could be talked about or linked to on this article. Please take that into consideration when evaluating the content material inside this text.
Disclaimer: Our writers’ opinions are solely their very own and don’t mirror the opinion of Cryptonomie. None of the knowledge you learn on Cryptonomie ought to be taken as funding recommendation, nor does Cryptonomie endorse any venture that could be talked about or linked to on this article. Buying and buying and selling cryptocurrencies ought to be thought-about a high-risk exercise. Please do your personal due diligence earlier than taking any motion associated to content material inside this text. Finally, Cryptonomie takes no accountability must you lose cash buying and selling cryptocurrencies.