US Banks Processed $1.2 Billion for Ransomware Hackers Last Year

New data from the US Treasury Department shows ransomware attacks cost victims more than $1 billion in 2021.

The estimate comes from the Treasury’s Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), which looked at US banks and their filings concerning money transactions to suspected ransomware hackers. 

“In 2021, FinCEN received 1,489 ransomware-related filings worth nearly $1.2 billion, a 188% increase compared to the total of $416 million for 2020,” the Treasury Department wrote in a report(Opens in a new window) published on Tuesday. 

Of the 1,489 filings made last year, 1,251 of them concerned incidents involving a ransomware demand or payment that occurred in 2021. “The total value of these incidents was roughly $886 million,” Treasury added. 

(Credit: Treasury Department)

The report also shows that the number of filings for ransomware incidents coming from banks has sharply risen over the last few years. On average, FinCEN is receiving 132 and a median of 136 ransomware-related incidents per month, “although significant month-to-month variability was observed across the entire year,” the agency said. 

The numbers highlight the uphill battle the US faces in countering the persistent ransomware scourge, which can take entire company networks hostage. However, the Treasury Department also noted that in the second half of 2021 it released advisories to banks about alerting authorities to suspected ransomware incidents. So it’s possible the recent spike in the numbers comes from more financial institutions reporting ransomware payments. 

The report goes on to say that suspected Russian-created ransomware is responsible for the vast majority of the incidents. “Of the 84 unique ransomware variants reported to FinCEN for incidents during the review period, FinCEN identified 49, or roughly 58%, that may be related to suspected Russian cyber actors,” the Treasury Department said. 

(Credit: Treasury Department)

One unnamed variant of Russian-created ransomware was also tied to 124 incidents during the second half of last year, and generated $84 million from victims. The median ransom was $300,000. For tips on stopping ransomware, check out our guide.

(Credit: Treasury Department)