The U.S. Treasury Department has issued a warning to the cryptocurrency market to combat ransomware attacks, noting that $590 million in suspected ransomware payments were made in the first six months of this year.
In the statement made by the ministry, it was stated that the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has released the Sanctions Compliance Guide for the Virtual Currency Industry and the new report of the Financial Crimes Investigation Network (FinCEN) on ransomware trends.
Pointing out that the number of ransomware payments paid via virtual currency has increased with the increase in ransomware attacks in recent years, it was noted that the increasing prevalence of virtual currency as a payment method brings greater exposure to sanctions risks.
The statement said the virtual currency industry is playing an increasingly critical role in preventing sanctioned individuals from using virtual currencies.
The average monthly ransomware transaction amount reported this year is $102.3 million, with the most common types of ransomware reported being REvil/Sodinokibi, Conti, DarkSide, Avaddon, and Phobos.
It was noted that a total of $590 million of suspicious ransomware payments were made in the first six months of this year, which is more than the total reported $416 million of ransomware payments throughout 2020.