Ransomware And The Bitcoin Money Trail
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You know a ransomware attack the instant you see it. A notice takes over your computer display, informing you that your critical files are locked away. You can get them back—but only by paying the attacker a fee, usually thousands of bitcoin.
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Ransomware And The Bitcoin Money Trail
- 1. Adapted from the Proofpoint Ransomware Survival Guide Ransomware and
- 2. Since its debut in 2009, Bitcoin has been a boon to civil libertarians and cyber criminals alike. Payments can’t be traced back to sender or recipient. That makes Bitcoin an anonymous, friction-free way to transact private commerce. This flipbook explains why the cryptocurrency has been so popular with ransomware, an old attack that has come roaring back to life in recent months.
- 3. How Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies work Think of this form of currency as equivalent to a virtual casino chip. These “coins” have no intrinsic value in the real world. Like a casino chip, though, users can purchase the tokens with real world, local currency, and use them within the establishment – in this case the internet – and trade them in for real currency upon exiting.
- 4. Bitcoin’s appeal Bitcoin is globally available and highly liquid • It converts directly into local currency • If offers low transaction fees • It’s faster than checks, wire transfers, and, in some cases, credit cards Unlike government-backed currency, cryptocurrencies are not considered money • Bitcoins are lightly regulated • Transmission methods and the “tumbler” system are not considered laundering – even thought they are essentially the same concept • The upshot: transactions are hard to trace
- 5. Why it’s so popular in ransomware In traditional kidnapping for ransom, the biggest challenge has always been collecting and getting away with the ransom itself. Earlier forms of ransomware might have required a pre-purchased debit card. While this approach can bypass banks’ anti-fraud measures, it’s cumbersome on both sides of the transaction. Bitcoin solves the problem with a fast, untraceable payment system that makes ransoms much easier to pay—and for cyber criminals, much safer to collect.
- 6. Anatomy of a ransomware payment Here’s how a typical ransomware payment works: 1. Cyber criminals infect the victim with ransomware, which demands a ransom to be paid in Bitcoin. 2. The victim purchases number of bitcoins demanded from one of countless legitimate Bitcoin exchanges. 3. The victim transfers the bitcoins from his or her Bitcoin wallet to an anonymous Bitcoin address 4. The coins enter a “tumbler.” This electronic service mixes bitcoins in with others, making them untraceable. 5. The coins transfer to the attacker. Much like real world laundering, the attacker ends up with an untraceable payment.
- 7. Following the money By demanding payment in Bitcoin, cyber criminals get anonymity that makes collecting ransoms far easier than before. It’s no wonder that all major variants of ransomware require payment in Bitcoin.
- 8. PROTECT YOURSELF FROM RANSOMWARE Download the Ransomware Survival Guide to learn what to do before, during and after a ransomware attack.
- 9. ABOUT PROOFPOINT Proofpoint, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFPT), a next-generation cybersecurity company, enables organizations to protect the way their people work today from advanced threats and compliance risks. Proofpoint helps cybersecurity professionals protect their users from the advanced attacks that target them (via email, mobile apps, and social media), protect the critical information people create, and equip their teams with the right intelligence and tools to respond quickly when things go wrong. Leading organizations of all sizes, including over 50 percent of the Fortune 100, rely on Proofpoint solutions, which are built for today’s mobile and social-enabled IT environments and leverage both the power of the cloud and a big-data-driven analytics platform to combat modern advanced threats. proofpoint.com ©Proofpoint, Inc. Proofpoint is a trademark of Proofpoint, Inc. in the United States and other countries. All other trademarks contained herein are property of their respective owners.