Analysts have identified more than 1.5 million cyber attacks using ransomware

In the period from March to May, the cybersecurity department of the former smartphone giant BlackBerry discovered a family of malicious programs that try to penetrate users' computers and steal cryptocurrency.

In total, BlackBerry prevented more than 1.5 million attacks this spring. The three industries most affected by cyberattacks are finance, healthcare, and government.

Linux was the biggest target of all operating systems, so BlackBerry recommended that organizations regularly install security patches. The reason for the massive attack on this software (software) is the capture of cryptocurrency mining devices. macOS users have encountered the Atomic macOS ransomware, which is used to collect private keys of crypto wallets and passwords stored in the browser.

Most often, attacks were carried out through the RedLine malware, which steals cryptocurrency and the user's bank information. Another common ransomware — Clop — targeted banks and financial institutions. In particular, it was with the help of this software that the fraudsters obtained the data of the banking fintech platform Hatch Bank.

Among the second most common malware are SmokeLoader, RaccoonStealer and Vidar. The first is one of the oldest financial instruments, which is popular among Russian criminals. RaccoonStealer and Vidar were used to steal crypto wallet data.

According to Chainalysis analysts, the flow of money to crime-related crypto addresses decreased by 65% ($5.2 million) in the first half of 2023. The largest decline occurred in the area of fraud, where the decrease amounted to more than $3.3 billion. This is explained by the sudden disappearance of two large schemes: VidiLook and Chia Tai Tianqing Pharmaceutical Financial Management.

At the same time, the only criminal area that turned out to be in the positive as of June 2023 is extortion. Criminals earned $175.7 million more than in the first half of 2022.