FinCEN Links More Than $5 Billion in Bitcoin Transactions to Ransomware –

FinCEN, the US Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, has linked more than $5 billion in Bitcoin transactions to the most common ransomware variants. The organization said in a report released last week that the average monthly suspicious volume of ransomware transactions was $66.4 million in the first two quarters of 2021. FinCEN also noted that the cryptocurrency most commonly used with these activities was Bitcoin.

FinCEN addresses ransomware attacks

FinCEN, the US financial crime enforcement network, found that more than $5 billion in Bitcoin transactions were made linked on payments to the ten most popular ransomware variants. These results were published by the institution in a published Test report titled “Ransomware Trends in Bank Secrecy Act Data Between January 2021 and June 2021,” which summarizes ransomware activity in the first two quarters of the year.

The report, which examines ransomware trends and their critical impact on infrastructure, states that 635 reports and 458 transactions were reported in June. This number exceeds the total number of incidents reported in 2021. The most well-known incidents include: Colonial pipeline Attack that led to gas shortages across the country.

Bitcoin the preferred crypto

The report also noted that Bitcoin was the most commonly used cryptocurrency for ransomware-related transactions. During the period examined, FinCEN reported that the vast majority of payments related to these incidents were requested in Bitcoin. However, there was a slight increase in payments using Monero, a privacy-focused cryptocurrency.

Another interesting finding of the report is that most of the funds raised through these activities went to well-known entities such as exchanges and that techniques such as “chain hopping,” which involves converting one cryptocurrency into another, were used to avoid detection by authorities. The use of mixers is also becoming more common to further obscure the paths of mixed cryptocurrencies.

Defi applications could also serve to convert some of these currencies into others for free exchange on other, more liquid exchanges. FinCEN identified ransomware-related funds that were indirectly sent to addresses connected to open protocols for use in Defi applications.

The institution advised companies to quickly report suspicious activity and integrate intrusion detection systems into their cyber defenses in the event of a ransomware attack.

What do you think of FinCEN's latest ransomware report and its connection to cryptocurrencies? Tell us in the comments section below.

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