> That's what changed with cryptocurrency. Do you have any evidence to suggest that cryptocurrency was the driving force here, rather than just natural evoluti

> That's what changed with cryptocurrency. Do you have any evidence to suggest that cryptocurrency was the driving force here, rather than just natural evolution of ransomware operations? I don’t believe so. Winlockers blew up right before cryptocurrency showed up, the early ones were very unsophisticated but hugely profitable. I believe they would have naturally evolved towards bigger payments even without cryptocurrency, it’s easier to process the occasional wire for $10M than to process tens of thousands of payments for $100. I’ve never seen anyone actually familiar with the cybercrime market try to argue that cryptocurrency is a driving factor behind ransomware. You hear it from apparently highly qualified ”infosec professionals”, but most of those people have never interacted with this scene. > I spent a bit of time reading up on those, and none of those seem like ransomware to me. Ransomware involves locking down a computer (or group of computers), then demanding a ransom to unlock it. That's a different attack then stealing bank account information or social engineering scams. Of course, the point was about their ability to receive huge payouts pre-cryptocurrency. Ransomware groups wouldn’t have any trouble accepting tens of millions of usd by wire transfer, especially since they can penalize the company if the money doesn’t land. Oh yeah, check this out https://twitter.com/malwaretechblog/status/1401003303085875201?s=21 https://twitter.com/malwaretechblog/status/14010033030858752...