Marcus Richards
The world has witnessed the potential that cryptocurrency has displayed in the last decade. Bitcoin took off exponentially and so did the newly introduced cryptocurrencies that followed the same trend right after it. New emerging technologies dismantled the entire apparatus of traditional financial institutions and have dethroned the incumbent traditional financial ecosystem source. Millions of people across the world have witnessed this revolutionary transition and succumbed to the unprecedented benefits that it offers.
The corporate sector has lived off the opportunistic character of blockchain technology & cryptocurrency for a decade. The new system of conducting digital transactions through cryptocurrency has expedited a host of daily activities for millions of companies worldwide (regardless of bigger or small in size).
However, we also need to come to grips with the fact that bitcoin & altcoins have almost become a den of thieves for shady organizations. It serves as a haven for such infamous & notorious cybercriminals who perpetrate cyberattacks on leading companies across the world. Is there any limit to cryptocurrency? Is it just as bad as it is good? Why do people feel safe conducting digital crypto transactions despite knowing that a plethora of illegal activities is being conducted on the same platform? Bitcoin Era will answer these questions and will help you to go deeper into this domain as it continues to get more advanced at the time of writing this article.
Inescapable clutches of ransomware
Ransomware attacks are considered as the most detrimental attacks to the companies that cost them a lot of money and sensitive data that was never supposed to get in the hands of evil-mongers. Yet, such attacks are being perpetrated by notorious cyber syndicates like “REvil” almost every year. The entire organization’s data get locked in this type of attack and the company’s officials get locked out of their system crippling their ability to put a halt to the attack.
Data gets locked by the attackers with impenetrable encryption which can only be unlocked by them after they get what they want i.e., a hefty ransom amount. Needless to say that such attacks have proliferated in the last decade not just in numbers but their severity has also grown with time. It is almost a nightmare for the companies who succumb to such attacks as substantial customer information also gets leaked in such attacks.
Bitcoin: A boon or bane?
The average payment for ransomware has significantly surged to as high as 60% in 2020 and bitcoin has been used as a major cryptocurrency to complete such ransom transactions. 98% of the ransom transactions are done through Bitcoin which is a significant proportion of all the ransomware attacks ever perpetrated. Hence, it is important to know about bitcoin & how it operates if law enforcement wants to retrieve the lost data & track the ransom.
A comprehensive understanding is warranted to be able to decipher, perceive and take decisive actions to mitigate the damage incurred from such ransomware attacks. But why only Bitcoin is used predominantly for such nefarious transactions? Well, it is just because it provides an incredible speed of transactions. Furthermore, the anonymity factor is one of the most cherished features that cybercriminals leverage, and bitcoins provide just that. Also, this particular cryptocurrency is incredibly easy to access.
Dark Web’s favorite
Ransom money in bitcoin makes it extremely difficult for the authorities & law enforcement to track the money. This is why a majority of the ransomware attackers are never caught and their identity remains a mystery in the digital world. Bitcoin is being regarded as the regular currency that the “Dark Web” has a major inclination towards, as it is incredibly easier to use & acquire. It also gives a sense of assurance to the attackers that they will more likely get the payment sooner or later.
Pre-establishment of payments
In order to retrieve the data from the attackers, organizations are supposed to be well-acquainted with the cryptocurrency scenario and how to incorporate it in real-time. It will help them to make pre-establishments of the payments which will expedite the payment process and the control on stolen data will be regained before it’s too late.
