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This is How Much Operators of Prominent Ransomware Made in Last Six Years

This is How Much Operators of Prominent Ransomware Made in Last Six Years
  • Ryuk ransomware lead the list, generating a revenue of $61 million for its operators between February 2018 and October 2019.
  • Dharma ransomware grabbed the second position, making an amount of $24 million between November 2016 and November 2019 for its authors.

According to estimates by the FBI, Ryuk, Dharma, BitPaymer, and SamSam ransomware have pocketed tens of millions of dollars for their authors. Speaking at the RSA Conference 2020, Joel DeCapua, a special agent in the bureau’s global operations and targeting unit, disclosed that ransomware operators have made up to $144.35 million between January 2013 and July 2019.

Which are the leading ransomware?
  • Ryuk ransomware leads the list, generating a revenue of $61 million for its operators between February 2018 and October 2019.
  • Dharma ransomware grabs the second position, making an amount of $24 million between November 2016 and November 2019.
  • Third on the list is BitPaymer, earning around $8 million between October 2017 and September 2019.
  • SamSam allegedly made $6.5 million for its authors by attacking healthcare institutions between 2016 and 2018.

DeCapua further adds that “$64 million of the total ransoms paid to cybercrooks is said to have passed through virtual currency exchanges before the bad guys cashed out. $37 million remains unspent”, Bitdefender reported.

How much has the GandCrab earned?
While the aforementioned demands were fulfilled in bitcoins, GandCrab operators demanded ransom payments in Dash cryptocurrency. Through this digital currency, the GandCrab operators are claimed to have amassed more than $2 million in payments from victims.

Bottom line
There are several other ransomware strains out there that are cashing in using different cryptocurrencies. So, the real bottom line is ransomware profits are arguably much higher.
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