Chainalysis: Value of Crypto Hacks, Ransomware Payments Rise in 2024

The value of funds taken in hacking activities and ransomware attacks rose during the first seven months of the year.

These increases were driven by the higher value of bitcoin and by ransomware attacks targeting larger organizations, Chainalysis said in a Thursday (Aug. 15) crypto crime mid-year update.

Stolen funds inflows rose by about 84% during the first seven months of 2024 compared to the previous year, rising from $857 million to $1.58 billion, according to the update.

Part of the increase in the value of funds stolen is attributable to the rise in the price of bitcoin, per the update. While the number of hacking incidents rose by 2.76%, the average amount of value compromised per event — based on the value of the assets at the time of the theft — increased by 79.5%.

The update also said cybercriminals are increasingly stealing funds by using off-chain methods like social engineering — including applying for IT jobs — to infiltrate crypto-related services.

Ransomware inflows rose by about 2%, from $449.1 million to $459.8 million, according to the update.

Cybercriminals are carrying out fewer high-profile ransomware attacks but are collecting larger payments. Between early 2023 and mid-June 2024, the median ransom payment in these attacks leaped from about $200,000 to $1.5 million, per the update.

Chainalysis said in the update that this spike in the value of ransom payments suggests that cybercriminals are “prioritizing targeting larger businesses and critical infrastructure providers that may be more likely to pay high ransoms due to their deep pockets and systemic importance.”

Ransomware attacks launched during the first half of 2024 have sparked concerns that fraudsters may be deliberately targeting businesses whose customers and end users would suffer greatly from ongoing and extended disruptions to business to exert more pressure on these organizations to pay a ransom, PYMNTS reported in July.

In April, House Financial Services Committee Chairman Patrick McHenry of North Carolina and Rep. Brittany Pettersen of Colorado reintroduced the “Ransomware and Financial Stability Act,” a bill designed to protect the country’s financial infrastructure from ransomware attacks.

The legislation includes deterrents targeting hackers as well as guidelines to help financial institutions respond to ransomware attacks.