Since March 2023, Akira ransomware has impacted a wide range of businesses and critical infrastructure entities in North America, Europe, and Australia. In April 2023, following an initial focus on Windows systems, Akira threat actors deployed a Linux variant targeting VMware ESXi virtual machines.
As of January 1, 2024, the ransomware group has impacted over 250 organizations and claimed approximately $42 million USD in ransomware proceeds. Early versions of the Akira ransomware variant were written in C++ and encrypted files with a .akira extension; however, beginning in August 2023, some Akira attacks began deploying Megazord, using Rust-based code which encrypts files with a .powerranges extension.
Read more…
Source: U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation Cyber Division
Related:
- Italian company exposed as a front for malware operations
June 12, 2020
For the past four years, an Italian company has operated a seemingly legitimate website and business, offering to provide binary protection against reverse engineering for Windows applications, but has secretly advertised and provided its service to malware gangs. The company’s secret business came to light after security researchers from Check Point began looking at GuLoader [1, ...
- Ransomware: Hackers took just three days to find this fake industrial network and fill it with malware
June 11, 2020
Industrial control networks are coming under attack from a range of ransomware attacks, security researchers have warned, after an experiment revealed the speed at which hackers are uncovering vulnerabilities in critical infrastructure. Security company Cybereason built a ‘honeypot’ designed to look like an electricity company with operations across Europe and North America. The network was made to ...
- City of Knoxville shuts down network after ransomware attack
June 11, 2020
The City of Knoxville, Tennessee, was forced to shut down its entire computer network following a ransomware attack that took place overnight and targeted the city’s offices. Knoxville has a population of over 180,000, it’s Tennessee’s third-largest city after Nashville and Memphis, and it’s also part of the Knoxville Metropolitan Statistical Area, with a reported population of almost 870,000 in 2015. Read ...
- Maze Ransomware adds Ragnar Locker to its extortion cartel
June 8, 2020
A second ransomware gang has partnered with Maze Ransomware to use their data leak platform to extort victims whose unencrypted files were stolen. Before encrypting a victim’s network, most network-targeting ransomware operations will steal a victim’s unencrypted files. These files are then used as leverage by threatening to release them publicly on data leak sites if a ransom is ...
- Honda investigates possible ransomware attack, networks impacted
June 8, 2020
Computer networks in Europe and Japan from car manufacturer giant Honda have been affected by issues that are reportedly related to a SNAKE Ransomware cyber-attack. Details are unclear at the moment but the company is currently investigating the cause of the problems that were detected on Monday. The company has confirmed to BleepingComputer that its IT network is not functioning ...
- New Avaddon Ransomware launches in massive smiley spam campaign
June 8, 2020
With a wink and a smile, the new Avaddon Ransomware has come alive in a massive spam campaign targeting users worldwide. Avaddon was launched at the beginning of this month and is actively recruiting hackers and malware distributors to spread the ransomware by any means possible. As its first known attack, the Avaddon Ransomware is being distributed in ...