Crypto Crash Rattles Cybercriminals, Pushing Them Beyond Ransomware

July 2, 2022 – Published on CNET

The collapse of cryptocurrencies is rippling through the world of ransomware, security researchers say, even though bitcoin, ether and other digital tokens remain the payment of choice for cybercriminals locking up corporate computer systems.

The widespread fall has forced cybercriminals to recalculate their ransoms, security professionals say, and has pushed out of business some of the services that handle their ill-gotten gains, such as dark web crypto-swapping marketplaces. It’s also accelerating a preexisting shift toward crimes such as malware attacks and corporate phishing scams that target actual dollars, rather than crypto.

Mark Lance, vice president of cyber defense and a ransomware negotiator at GuidePoint Security, notes that ransomware demands are generally based on US dollar amounts, so cybercriminals are simply doing the math and asking for greater amounts of crypto. That makes the bitcoin demand look larger, even though ransoms haven’t changed much in dollar terms. 

Lance says many ransomware attacks fly under the radar these days because the attacks aren’t as novel as they once were. Many ransoms get little attention unless they have the type of consumer fallout that last year’s headline-grabbing attack on Colonial Pipeline did.

“Ransomware is still as prevalent as it ever was,” Lance said, “and still making a ton of money.” 

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