At the same time, the number of malicious programs attackers have been using to encrypt victims’ data “exploded in 2022,” the report reads. Cybersecurity firm Fortinet identified 10,666 new ransomware variants in the first half of 2022, compared to just 5,400 over the same period of 2021. However, only a few of the variants bring attackers significant gains: “the vast majority of ransomware revenue goes to a small group of strains at any given time,” Chainalysis said.
Ransomware Variants Are on the Rise but Overall Gains Decline: Chainalysis
