Unchained

How Ransomware Evolved Into a Big Business - Ep.256

Jul 20, 2021

Gurvais Grigg, Global Public Sector CTO at Chainalysis with a rich background in FBI counterterrorism, teams up with Kim Grauer, Director of Research at Chainalysis and a cryptocurrency crime analyst. Together, they dissect the evolution of ransomware into a lucrative business. They reveal how hacking groups like REvil employ sophisticated strategies and why Bitcoin is the payment of choice. The duo also discusses the challenges of ransomware reporting and how governments are adapting counter-terrorism tactics to combat this growing threat.

57:39

Creator website

Episode guests

Kim Grauer

Gurvais Grigg

AI Chapters

Episode notes

Intro

2min

Backgrounds of Experts Unveiling Ransomware Insights

2min

The Evolution and Impacts of Ransomware Attacks

3min

The Ransomware Landscape: Strategies and Operations

21min

Exploring the Challenges of Ransomware Reporting

2min

Navigating Ransom Payments and Cryptocurrency Preferences

5min

Cryptocurrency: A Double-Edged Sword

4min

Navigating Ransomware Payments and Crypto Challenges

19min

Gurvais Grigg, Chainalysis public sector CTO, and Kim Grauer, director of research at Chainalysis, review the ransomware landscape. Show Highlights:

their backgrounds and roles at Chainalysis
how a ransomware attack works
what types of businesses are usually targeted in ransomware attacks
why ransomware as a service (RAAS) is a booming business
why Kim and Gurvais believe the hacking group REvil is becoming more sophisticated
what characteristic of REvil hints that the group could be affiliated with Russia
how the RAAS business model works
how ransomware payments can be tracked
why ransomware reporting has a data problem
why Bitcoin is the preferred method of payment amongst ransomware attackers
what two factors makes BTC preferable to privacy coins
how ransomware groups teach victims to transfer BTC
how ransomware groups cash out of their BTC
how counter-terrorism tactics can help fight ransomware attacks
how the Department of Justice may have partially recovered part of the Colonial Pipeline ransomware payment
what tools and strategies governments can and will use to battle ransomware