CYBERSPACE — Ransomware hackers may have been able to lock thousands of computers around the world over this past week, but they haven’t had much success getting their victims to pay up.

Around 300,000 computers have been infected with WannaCry ransomware, but the hackers have only received just over US$80,000 in Bitcoin ransom payments, CNN reported, citing UK-based Bitcoin intelligence company Elliptic.

That’s roughly 25 cents per infected computer.

Security experts told CNN the hackers will find it difficult to spend the money because although Bitcoin can be held in anonymous accounts, anyone can see those accounts online and view a record of transactions.

The hackers targeted a weakness in Windows XP. However, experts said people still using the operating system were unlikely to be tech savvy, and were thus unfamiliar with Bitcoin.

This lead experts to question whether the hackers were motivated by money or had a political agenda.

Although not conclusive evidence, some of the code in the WannaCry malware has previously been used by hackers believed to be based in North Korea, the Telegraph reported.