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The history of technology is riddled with unintended consequences. As William Gibson wrote in Burning Chrome, "...the street finds its own uses for things." Though Bitcoin may not have been originally conceived as a medium for ransom payments, it's quickly become a central tool for online criminals.
Ransomware, a category of "malware," blocks access to a computer or network until a ransom is paid. Despite the evolving efforts of governments to regulate cryptocurrency and mitigate its role in ransomware payments, the attacks keep coming.
Cryptocurrency ransomware payments totaled roughly $350 million in 2020, according to Chainanalysis -- an annual increase of over 300% from 2019. And because US companies are legally required to report cyberattacks only if customers' personal information is compromised, that estimate may be far too conservative.
Read more: The history of hacking ransoms and cryptocurrency
Below, we tally up the damage of some of the highest-profile episodes.
Kaseya (2021)
On July 2, 2021, Kaseya announced its systems had been infiltrated. Kaseya provides IT solutions for other companies -- an ideal target which, in a domino effect, ended up impacting approximately 1,500 organizations in multiple countries. REvil, a cybercriminal outfit, tor drug darknet market claimed responsibility for dark market 2024 the attack and demanded ransoms ranging from a few thousand dollars to multiple millions, according to a Reuters report.
It's unclear how many individual businesses paid up, but REvil demanded $70 million in bitcoin from Kaseya. Kaseya declined to pay, opting to cooperate with the FBI and the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency. On July 21, 2021, Kaseya obtained a universal decryptor key and distributed it to organizations impacted by the attack.
JBS (2021)
On May 31, 2021, JBS USA, one of the largest meat suppliers in the US, disclosed a hack that caused it to temporarily halt operations at its five largest US-based plants. The ransomware attack also disrupted the company's Australia and UK operations. JBS paid the hackers an $11 million ransom in Bitcoin to prevent further disruption and limit the impact on grocery stores and restaurants. The FBI attributed the hack to REvil, a sophisticated criminal ring well-known in ransomware attacks.
Colonial Pipeline (2021)
On May 7, 2021, America's largest "refined products" pipeline went offline after a hacking group called Darkside infiltrated it with ransomware. Colonial Pipeline covers over 5,500 miles and transports more than 100 million gallons of fuel daily. The impact of the attack was significant: In the days that followed, the average price of a gallon of gas in the US increased to more than $3 for the first time in seven years as drivers rushed to the pumps.
The pipeline operator said it paid the hackers $4.4 million in cryptocurrency. On June 7, 2021, the DOJ announced it had recovered part of the ransom. US law enforcement officials were able to track the payment and Dark markets take back $2.3 million using a private key for a cryptocurrency wallet.
Brenntag (2021)
On April 28, dark web darknet market urls 2021, German chemical distributor Brenntag learned it was the target of a cyberattack by Darkside, which stole 150GB of data that it threatened to leak if ransom demands weren't met. After negotiating with the criminals, Brenntag ended up negotiating the original ransom of $7.5 million down to $4.4 million, which it paid on May 11.
CNA Financial (2021)
On March 23, 2021, CNA Financial, the seventh largest commercial insurer in the US, disclosed it had "sustained a sophisticated cybersecurity attack.