WannaCry Ransoms Finally Collected

Crime, Event, FinTech | August 3, 2017 By:

The WannaCry virus ransoms have been collected by an anonymous source, according to published reports.

The bitcoins collected to unlock the encrypted files at hospitals, schools, businesses and institutions around the world had grown to about $140,000 in legacy (BTC) bitcoin, but got a boost when Bitcoin Cash emerged this week and presented non-custodial wallet-holders with the new coin on a one-to-one basis.

There were three wallets identified by security experts as the collection point for the WannaCry ransoms, which started rolling in May. The removal of the WannaCry-related bitcoins was first reported by Quartz’ Keith Collins, who had set up a “bot” to track transactions involving the wallets.

Whomever took the bitcoins now has to launder the bitcoins through a bitcoin mixer, which will conceal the transaction records, further distancing the digital vandals identity from lawmen.