“Ransomware payments in 2023 soared above $1.1 billion for the first time, shattering previous records and reversing the decline seen in 2022, marking the year as an exceptionally profitable period for ransomware gangs.”
Chainalysis counts over $1.1 billion paid, beating the $983 million record from 2021. Clop alone hit thousands of organizations through one MOVEit zero-day and skipped encryption to just steal and extort. Fewer victims pay now, so the gangs go after the big ones that will. Every company that writes a seven-figure check funds the next attack on someone else.