Ransomware Brought Hackers $25 Million
Posted: Sun Feb 09, 2025 5:02 am
IncreaseThe Locky virus brought the most profit to ransomware, with victims paying out more than $7 million.
The Locky virus brought the most profit to ransomware, with victims paying out more than $7 million.
Google, along with Chainalysis, the University of California San Diego, and the Polytechnic Institute of New York University, calculated the amount of money paid by victims to ransomware creators. According to The Verge, the researchers analyzed 34 malware families that have been active since 2014. The Locky ransomware generated the most revenue, with victims paying more than $7 million.
Locky was the first ransomware to have a split mexico mobile database and encryption infrastructure, meaning it was developed by one group of hackers and infected by another. This allowed the malware to spread faster and longer than its competitors. A similar model was then used for Cerber and CryptXXX, which collected ransoms of $6.9 million and $1.9 million, respectively.
The study also shows that malware authors have become more efficient at evading antivirus protection. Once a piece of malware is identified, antivirus programs typically scan the objects to compare binaries and find matches. But modern malware can automatically modify the binary. Researchers were able to detect thousands of new binaries associated with the Cerber virus each month. This allowed it to remain undetected by many antivirus systems.
The Locky virus brought the most profit to ransomware, with victims paying out more than $7 million.
Google, along with Chainalysis, the University of California San Diego, and the Polytechnic Institute of New York University, calculated the amount of money paid by victims to ransomware creators. According to The Verge, the researchers analyzed 34 malware families that have been active since 2014. The Locky ransomware generated the most revenue, with victims paying more than $7 million.
Locky was the first ransomware to have a split mexico mobile database and encryption infrastructure, meaning it was developed by one group of hackers and infected by another. This allowed the malware to spread faster and longer than its competitors. A similar model was then used for Cerber and CryptXXX, which collected ransoms of $6.9 million and $1.9 million, respectively.
The study also shows that malware authors have become more efficient at evading antivirus protection. Once a piece of malware is identified, antivirus programs typically scan the objects to compare binaries and find matches. But modern malware can automatically modify the binary. Researchers were able to detect thousands of new binaries associated with the Cerber virus each month. This allowed it to remain undetected by many antivirus systems.