Cryptocurrencies offer a number of advantages compared to fiat currencies, but there are certain challenges to them as well. People should be aware of risk factors. A report prepared by the cybersecurity firm McAfee once more underlines the importance of this topic. It is worth mentioning that, there is no shortage of crypto-related crimes in the world.
This report contains many interesting details about the NetWalker, ransomware first known as Mailto, initially discovered in August 2019.
According to McAfee, the operators of NetWalker collected more than $25 million. People should take into account that, NetWalker collected millions of dollars from ransom payments in several months.
Importantly, NetWalker organized what can be described as one of the most profitable types of ransomware for cybercriminals. In fact, from March 1 to July 27, the group collected around 2,795 Bitcoin.
McAfee and NetWalker
Based on the information taken from the report, NetWalker operators started to use SegWit addresses instead of legacy Bitcoin addresses. Notably, SegWit addresses offer faster transaction times and lower costs.
On March 20, at least two darknet forums saw posts related to the NewWalker actors. Notably, NetWalker actors offered the ransomware with a revenue-sharing scheme to help spread the malware and to make it as profitable as possible.
This group is responsible for numerous attacks on public and private organizations. Unfortunately, it is quite hard to determine the exact amount of money ransomware groups generated over the years. As a result, the amount of money stolen by NetWalker could be more than $25 million.
Interestingly, most of the targets were based in western European countries and the United States.
This report once more underlines the severity of this problem. People should pay more attention to such reports, as thanks to reports prepared by various organizations, it is possible to minimize risk factors.
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