A recent Chainalysis report indicates that 2024 is set to be the highest-grossing year for ransomware payments. 2023 is the current record holder in that regard, surpassing the $1 billion dollar mark, which was an interesting development given the significant decline in ransomware payments that occurred in 2022. In the chart we have below, we can see a clear trendline indicating an increasing trend since 2019. In hindsight, it may be more useful to view 2022 as an anomaly. The mid-year total
akira (2)
Since March 2023, Akira ransomware has impacted a wide range of businesses and critical infrastructure entities in North America, Europe, and Australia. In April 2023, following an initial focus on Windows systems, Akira threat actors deployed a Linux variant targeting VMware ESXi virtual machines. As of 1 January 2024, the ransomware group has impacted over 250 organizations and claimed approximately $42 million USD in ransomware proceeds.
Early versions of the Akira ransomware variant were wr
