Fewer companies are paying ransoms to hackers, researchers say

The researchers concluded that affiliates are carrying out attacks using several different ransomware strains. The administrators, meanwhile, rebrand themselves and switch between strains. — Photo by Mika Baumeister on Unsplash

Fewer companies that are infected with ransomware are coughing up extortion payments demanded by hackers, according to new research from Chainalysis Inc.

In findings published on Thursday, the blockchain forensics firm estimated that ransom payments – which are almost always paid in cryptocurrency – fell to US$456.8mil (RM1.96bil) in 2022 from US$765.6mil (RM3.28bil) in 2021, a 40% drop.