‘How Cryptocurrency Gave Birth to the Ransomware Epidemic’

“Cryptocurrency has changed the game of cybercrime,” argues Vice’s Christian Devolu, in a new episode of their video series CRYPTOLAND. “Hackers and cybergangs have been locking down the data of large corporations, police departments, and even hospitals, and demanding ransom — and guess what they’re asking for? Cryptocurrency!”

In short, argues an article accompanying the episode, cryptocurrency “gave birth to the ransomware epidemic.”

Slashdot reader em1ly shares one highlight from the video: The team visits a school district in Missouri [“just one of around 1,000 U.S. schools hacked last year with ransomware”] that was the victim of a ransomware attack. [“Luckily, the school’s backups were not impacted….”]

Another interesting observation from the article:
When ransom payments do happen, companies like Chainalysis can track the Bitcoin through the blockchain, identifying the hackers’ wallets and collaborating with law enforcement in an attempt to recover the funds or identify the hackers themselves.