Think Crime Doesn’t Pay? Sodinokibi Ransomware Affiliate Steals Nearly $290K in 72 Hours

Some villains who distributed the Sodinokibi Ransomware earn a tremendous amount of money illegally by conning victims to pay a requested bitcoin price into their wallets.

Researchers from McAfee tracked some covered information, only to find out that one distributor of the ransomware made an equivalent of $287,499 Bitcoins in 3 days. The analysts further revealed that there could be a possibility of a significant number of affiliates working under Sodinokibi. The hack developers earn around $700 and $1,500 in every successful deposit. Besides, the blockchain researchers found out about various financial undertakings from branches to a wallet worth $4.5 million in Bitcoins. A large amount of the money purchased illegal products and amenities on dark webs and different markets such as Hydra Market.

Other researchers also conducted an investigation to track Bitcoin victims. They discovered that once you get into the business, there are exciting patterns observed, victims will pay money to the rightly assigned wallet. Unfortunately, it only takes a minimum of 3 days for the transaction to go to an affiliate wallet. 60 % to 70% of the money remains in the affiliates wallet while the other percent is transferred into various operations, believed to be of the masterminds of the Bitcoin hacking.

The Operations Involved in Sodinokibi

It is a virus known for locking files; it encrypts relevant data and asks for a massive price from victims to get their files back. The ransom differs depending on how fast you pay. It was unleashed early this year and is a significant threat.

When the ransomware emerged, it was seen exploiting vulnerabilities in servers and various critical assets of SMBs.

It's a rapidly growing high profile attack associated with malware threats in various healthcare. Some health institutions have agreed to pay the affiliate's demands, to ensure a smooth run in their facilities.

Although some situations will require you to pay the members to keep your business, this will fund the criminals contributing to more crimes.