The Largest Ransomware Payout on Record

The Story Behind the Numbers

The largest ransomware payment ever confirmed is $75 million. In early 2024, an unnamed Fortune 50 company paid that sum in Bitcoin to a group called Dark Angels – the biggest single ransom on record, and a figure that still stands today. Dark Angels practices what the industry calls “big game hunting”: rather than chasing many small victims, it targets one large, deep-pocketed company at a time. Before demanding payment, the group quietly stole an enormous volume of data – reportedly close to 100 terabytes – to use as leverage. The original demand was said to be $150 million. The victim was never officially named, though reporting has pointed to a major pharmaceutical company. Either way, one payment reset expectations for how much attackers can extract.

Why This Data is Important

Ransomware is malicious software that locks your files and demands payment to unlock them. It works through encryption – scrambling your data so it is unreadable without a secret key (the same technology that, used honestly, protects your traffic). If you want the basics, start with our guide to how VPNs and encryption work. The record matters because it shows where attackers are heading: fewer victims, bigger paydays. A nine-figure demand is now realistic for the right target. But the entry point is almost always mundane – a phishing email or a stolen login, not some exotic hack – which is why securing your email is one of the most useful steps you can take.

Looking Ahead: Future Outlook

A record like this rarely stays an outlier. Security researchers warn that other groups will copy the “big game hunting” playbook, chasing fewer but far larger targets. That points to higher demands ahead, not lower. The defenses, though, stay the same: keep offline backups, train staff to spot phishing, and limit your exposure online.

Source & Methodology