Victims of ransomware gave hackers more than $25 million in payoffs in just the last two years, according to a study released Monday.
The study’s findings prove that ransomware — a type of infected software designed to take over a computer system and then block access for the authorized user — is becoming more and more widespread. It cost businesses a total of $1 billion in 2016, according to another report from security intelligence firm PhishMe.
The more recent study was conducted by Google, Chainalysis, NYU Tandon School of Engineering and UC San Diego, and was first reported by The Verge.
The consortium of researchers reached its findings by following a digital ledger called a blockchain, which publicly (but not conspicuously) lists made payments. They ultimately used the data to create a large picture of the ransomware ecosystem, specifically the scope of its direct effects.
The researchers discovered 34 distinct families of ransomware, according to The Verge. At least three of the strains stood out in particular because they were the primary mechanisms for obtaining a large portion of the money.
A form of ransomware called Locky, for example, which seemed to manifest in early 2016, brought in more than $7 million in payments.
“Locky’s big advantage was the decoupling of the people who maintain the ransomware from the people who are infecting machines,” NYU professor Damon McCoy, who worked on the initiative, told The Verge. “Locky just focused on building the malware and support infrastructure. Then they had other botnets spread and distribute the malware, which were much better at that end of the business.”
Their data also showed that ransomware generators are adapting to antivirus software that tries to defend computer systems from nefarious hackers.
Not all ransomware, though, is as effective in garnering money, whether it’s because of the inherent makeup of the virus or the operators’ direct management of the payment system.
A version of ransomware called WannaCry swept the world in May, hitting critical infrastructure in hospitals and other facilities dependent on virtual systems. Despite it causing chaos in emergency rooms and reportedlyinfecting more than 200,000 machines in several countries, the hackers only made around $50,000 to $100,000 worth of bitcoin, the crypto-currency. Some experts said the relatively meager amount was due to businesses and people not knowing what bitcoin is or how to obtain it in order to fulfill the demands.
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