This is interesting. Yhumi Tsun reports:
Researchers have exposed the murky ecosystem of ransomware payments wherein they have revealed how hackers prefer Russian Bitcoin exchange and how South Koreans are among the most targeted victims.
Researchers are optimistic their work could help law enforcement track cyber criminals. Ransomware attacks, which encrypt and hold a computer user’s files hostage in exchange for payment, extort millions of dollars from individuals each month, and comprise one of the fastest-growing forms of cyber attack.
In a paper slated for presentation at the IEEE Symposium on Security and Privacy in May, Damon McCoy, an assistant professor of computer science and engineering at the NYU Tandon School of Engineering and a team including researchers from the University of California, San Diego; Princeton University; Google; and the blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis provide the first detailed account of the ransomware payment ecosystem, from initial attack to cash-out.
Read more on Financial Report.