Ransomware Hackers “WannaCry” Cash Out After 12 Weeks Since Attack

On May 12th Ransomware swept the globe attacking over 300,000 computers, encrypting files and holding them for ransom. The longer someone took to pay the ransom to decrypt a file the ransom would increase. WannaCry abducted files for hospitals, causing emergency rooms to turn away patients, cellphone operators, personal computers, and many businesses causing a mass disruption.

WannaCry made about $140,000 from the attack which was being held in a bitcoin account. The account was obviously under close observation by law enforcement agencies, and around 11:00pm Wednesday August 2nd the money began to move.

At 11:10pm three separate transactions were made in the amounts of $20,055.52, $23,856.48, and $26,434.83, totaling about half of what the account held.

At 11:15pm, three more withdrawals were made; $19,318.06, $27,514.04, and $24,698.95. Finally, around 11:25pm, the rest of the account was drained, with a withdrawal of $26,508.37.

Agencies watching the WannaCry hackers and attacks came to a general consensus that it was an operation out of North Korea, and it’s a politically motivated attack.