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Bitcoin Is Fueling the Ransomware Epidemic

By M. Scott Koller

Year after year, security experts have raised the alarm regarding the threat of ransomware, and yet it continues to be the leading cause of security breaches. At BakerHostetler, our incident response team continues to see organizations of all sizes and in every industry fall victim to this threat. But what has been fueling the rapid growth and spread of ransomware?

At its core, ransomware is a type of malware. Similar to the viruses and worms that have plagued the computer industry for decades, its defining characteristic is the ransom demanded to restore access to infected systems or data. Money is a powerful motivator, but it alone wasn't enough to fuel the ransomware epidemic. After all, the first documented ransomware infection was in 1989, but it remained relatively unknown until its resurgence over the past five years. So what changed? In short, bitcoin.

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