Digital world

  In 2023, ransomware hackers made more money than ever before. They earned $1.1 billion, setting a new record. This is a big increase from the $567 million they got in 2022.  Chainalysis , a company that watches blockchain activities, shared this information. The rise in earnings comes after a year when the money from ransomware dropped. But in 2023, things changed. More hackers joined in, and some big attacks brought in a lot of money. One hacking group, CL0P, made over $100 million by finding a way to break into a file-transfer service called MOVEit. This service is used by many businesses and governments. CL0P's attack on MOVEit made it the top ransomware for a while. More people are trying ransomware because it can be very profitable. For instance, a group called Phobos lets other hackers use its ransomware. This makes it easier for more attacks to happen, even by those who are not very skilled. Ransomware-as-a-service gangs, like LockBit and ALPHV, have made ransomware a...

  Ransomware gangs have been a prime concern for quite some time now, with victims across several industries getting targeted by their unique form of malware. Unfortunately, paying the demanded ransom isn’t really a way out because of the fact that this is the sort of thing that could potentially end up leading to re-victimization. With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that the proportion of people that have acquiesced to the demands of ransomware gangs has plummeted in recent years. Based on data provided by the cybersecurity company  Coveware , just 29% of ransomware victims paid the demanded ransom in the fourth quarter of 2023, which indicates that 71% refused the demands with all things having been considered and taken into account. This is a steep decline from three years ago, when a whopping 60% of companies would give the malicious actors whatever they asked for in the hopes that this would enable them to regain access to the...