Online Crime Intensifies: $13 Trillion Lost to Ransomware Attacks
Jakarta – Ransomware crime continues throughout 2025, with attacks experiencing a spike of up to 50% and marking the most active year ever recorded.
However, payments to perpetrators have reached more than $820 million (Rp13.7 trillion) in on-chain transactions. This figure represents a slight decline of 8% compared to the previous year’s $892 million (Rp14.9 trillion).
According to a Chainalysis report, total payments are estimated to reach approximately $900 million, accounting for additional unreported incidents and transactions.
Given the escalation in attacks coupled with stable overall payment figures, the percentage of ransom payments has reached its lowest point this year at 28%.
According to eCrime.ch, a greater proportion of attacks are now targeting small and medium-sized enterprises, as victims from these segments tend to pay ransoms more promptly.
“However, Chainalysis data indicates that payments are trending downwards despite public claims reaching all-time highs. This discrepancy is significant, showing that attackers are working harder to achieve diminishing returns,” explained eCrime.ch founder Corsin Camichel, as cited by Chainalysis on Friday (27 February 2026).
According to Chainalysis, the overall reduction in payments demonstrates improved regulatory response and enforcement oversight. This has helped decrease the frequency of successful ransom payments following ransomware attacks.
A range of revenue streams for ransomware operators have been curtailed through international action against operators, infrastructure, and money laundering networks.
Additionally, the emergence of variants such as Volklocker in several cases has disrupted ransomware operations. This variant is known for cryptographic weaknesses, enabling free decryption in some cases.
The report also noted a shift towards decentralised and rapidly evolving forms of cyber crime dominance. This development makes attribution, response, and long-term tracking increasingly critical.