Ransomware Payments in 2021 Already Dwarf Last Year’s Total, FinCEN Reports

Ransomware Payments in 2021 Already Dwarf Last Year’s Total, FinCEN Reports
Payments tied to ransomware attacks in 2021 are already exceeding 2020′s total, the U.S. government’s financial crimes watchdog announced Friday.Exchanges and other financial institutions reported more than $590 million in payments tied to ransomware attacks, including cryptocurrency payments, to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) in the first half of 2021, outstripping a 2020 total of just $416 million. It was not immediately clear what amount of this total was comprised specifically of cryptocurrency transactions, versus more traditional payment methods.A Treasury Department press release said attackers are “increasingly requesting payments in Anonymity-Enhanced Cryptocurrencies such as Monero.”Attackers are also using mixers,…