Crypto Ransomware-betalinger steg 311% i 2020: Chainalysis

Nye data antyder, at kryptobetalinger forbundet med ransomware – en slags malware rettet mod afpresning – var stigende i 2020.

• Kryptobetalinger forbundet med ransomware voksede mindst 311% i 2020 ifølge nye data fra blockchain-datafirmaet Chainalysis.
• “Ransomware” henviser til en kategori af ondsindede computerprogrammer, der tvinger brugerne til at betale løsepenge.
• Bare 0,34% af alle kryptokurrency-transaktioner sidste år var kriminelle, ned fra 2,1% i 2019. Men dette antal vil sandsynligvis stige, sagde firmaet.

Nye data antyder, at Bitcoin Future kryptobetalinger forbundet med ransomware – en slags malware rettet mod afpresning – var stigende i 2020.

I et nyligt offentliggjort uddrag af sin årlige Crypto Crime Report, blockchain

datafirmaet Chainalysis har sagt, at kriminelle adresser modtog 311% mere kryptokurrency

fra ransomware i 2020, end de gjorde i 2019. Rapporten advarer også om, at dette sandsynligvis er et forsigtigt skøn, da Chainalysis sandsynligvis identificerer flere adresser, der er forbundet med ransomware-betalinger med tilbagevirkende kraft.

Ifølge vores forskning er #ransomware den hurtigst voksende form for kriminel cryptocurrency-aktivitet og er en direkte trussel mod #nationalalsecurity. Vi er stolte af at være en del af @IST_org #RansomwareTaskForce for at hjælpe med at afbøde denne trussel. https://t.co/QgVkqTjOZx

– Chainalysis (@chainalysis) 19. januar 2021

Virksomheden afdækkede på samme måde som sidste års tal: Crypto Crime Report for 2019 hævdede, at 1,1% af alle kryptotransaktioner var kriminelle – i år fandt det, at det sande antal mere ligner 2,1% eller omkring 21,4 mia. $ I forskellige kryptovalutaer.

Rapportens bedste gæt for 2020 er 0,34%, hvilket ifølge rapporten også vil vokse, efterhånden som flere svindel afsløres. Hvis der er gode nyheder, er det, at udgangspunktet er betydeligt lavere: omkring $ 10,0 mia.

Og mens betalinger forbundet med ransomware voksede betydeligt i år, tegner de sig stadig kun for 7% af de 10 milliarder dollars. Langt de fleste kriminelle kryptobetalinger havde at gøre med darknet-markeder og den generelle kategori af “svindel”.

Rapporten giver også en mulig forklaring på stigningen i ransomware-tilsluttede betalinger i løbet af 2020. “Covid-bedt arbejde hjemmefra foranstaltninger,” foreslår det, “åbnede nye sårbarheder for mange organisationer.”
Bitcoin kan have finansieret Pro-Trump Capitol Riot: Rapporter

Bitcoin kan have spillet en rolle i finansieringen af ​​optøjerne den 6. januar ved Capitol, ifølge ny forskning fra blockchain-datafirmaet Chainalysis. I dagene siden hundreder af voldelige Trump …

Ransomware-programmer har ifølge NPR og Wall Street Journal været aggressivt rettet mod hospitaler og skoler under pandemien, da angribere ser ud til at drage fordel af sårbare systemer på sårbare institutioner.

Joshua Corman, seniorrådgiver ved Department of Homeland Security, fortalte Journal, at bekymringen med ransomware var mere end blot økonomisk – angreb på medicinske faciliteter, sagde han, kan “føre til et påviseligt tab af menneskeliv.”

Many crypto fans appreciate cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin mainly because of their decentralization and freedom from all regulations.

However, a recent example of a German programmer in the US shows that the latter can also become a disadvantage for users.

Actually, Stefan Thomas had done everything right when he received several thousand Bitcoins from a Hodler in 2011 and did not sell them until today. According to reports from the New York Times, he is in possession of 7,002 Bitcoin worth approximately $242,380,000 (as of Jan. 13, 2021). He stored the password of his wallet on a hard drive called IronKey and additionally wrote it down on a piece of paper for security. But it is precisely this piece of paper that he can now no longer find.

Without access to the wallet, the Bitcoins are worthless to him. Users of IronKey have a total of ten attempts to enter the correct password until the hard drive is locked and the Bitcoins are consequently lost forever. Thomas already tried his luck eight times – but without success.

I just lie in bed and think about it. Then I go to the computer with a new strategy, it doesn’t work and I’m desperate again.

Even the manufacturers of the hard disk could not help the programmer on his password search. Finally, Thomas decided to put the computers with the lost Bitcoins out of his sight, as he felt constantly reminded of his faux pas when he saw them.

Thomas’ loss is not an isolated incident

Customers of traditional banking do not automatically lose their assets by forgetting their password. The situation is different for users of a crypto wallet. Jan Bindig, CEO at data recovery specialist Datarecovery, warned of precisely this problem back in 2018:

If you lose or forget your password, you’ve automatically lost all your Bitcoins.

Despite these warnings, users seem to make the same mistake over and over again. So did a Los Angeles-based entrepreneur. He too forgot his password and lost thousands of Bitcoins this way. He told the newspaper Brad Yasar that he had spent several hundred hours over the years trying to get back into his wallet.

According to Chainalysis, one-fifth of the existing 18.5 million Bitcoins had already been lost in this way. 3.7 million Bitcoin had thus virtually simply vanished into thin air.