Key Takeaways
- CDK has partnered with FCF Pay to allow car purchases using Bitcoin.
- CDK Global paid $25 million in Bitcoin to resolve a ransomware attack.
- Chainalysis noted that crypto-related ransomware payments nearly doubled to over $1 billion in 2023.
CDK Global reportedly paid over $25 million in Bitcoin to resolve a ransomware attack in June. The cyberattack disrupted the company’s software operations, affecting around 15,000 US car dealerships, as revealed by on-chain investigator ZachXBT.
According to ZachXBT, the 387 BTC payment was made to an address linked to the ransomware group BlackSuit on June 21. The funds were then swiftly moved to several centralized exchanges. BlackSuit, which emerged in 2023, has been actively targeting US companies with ransomware attacks.
A Bloomberg report suggested that CDK Global planned to pay the ransom to prevent the public release of its data and expedite system recovery. Despite this, CDK has not confirmed the payment but announced that nearly all of its dealership customers were back online last week.
Ransomware attacks involve deploying malware that restricts access to computer systems or data, demanding a ransom for its release. Blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis noted that crypto-related ransomware payments nearly doubled to over $1 billion in 2023. They highlighted the rise of new extortion groups and the difficulty in monitoring all incidents or tracing ransom payments made in Bitcoin.
One such group, “cl0p,” reportedly made nearly $100 million in ransom payments by exploiting file-sharing software MOVEit. Another group, Black Basta, extorted at least $107 million in Bitcoin, with much of the laundered funds going to the sanctioned Russian crypto exchange, Garantex.
These incidents have prompted federal agencies, including the FBI, to issue advisories about the growing threat of ransomware attacks.
