“Researchers with security consultancy Chainalysis report that, thanks to stepped up efforts from law enforcement and victim response, the second half of 2024 saw a whopping 35% decrease in payouts to ransomware attackers.”
“The report goes on to point out that the smaller payouts are likely the result of increased efforts by law enforcement to catch ransomware criminals as they are trying to cash out their hacks.”
“Despite seeing a drop in payouts on the year, the researchers noted that ransomware leak incidents increased. This would suggest that organizations are more willing to call the bluff of threat actors and, as a result, pay the price in dealing with a data disclosure.”
“Ransomware operations have also become faster, with negotiations often beginning within hours of data exfiltration.”
