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:
- #StopRansomware: Hive Ransomware
November 17, 2022
As of November 2022, Hive ransomware actors have victimized over 1,300 companies worldwide, receiving approximately US$100 million in ransom payments, according to FBI information. Hive ransomware follows the ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) model in which developers create, maintain, and update the malware, and affiliates conduct the ransomware attacks. From June 2021 through at least November 2022, threat ...
- DEV-0569 finds new ways to deliver Royal ransomware, various payloads
November 17, 2022
Recent activity from the threat actor that Microsoft tracks as DEV-0569, known to distribute various payloads, has led to the deployment of the Royal ransomware, which first emerged in September 2022 and is being distributed by multiple threat actors. Observed DEV-0569 attacks show a pattern of continuous innovation, with regular incorporation of new discovery techniques, ...
- DTrack activity targeting Europe and Latin America
November 15, 2022
DTrack is a backdoor used by the Lazarus group. Initially discovered in 2019, the backdoor remains in use three years later. It is used by the Lazarus group against a wide variety of targets. For example, Kaspersky researchers seen it being used in financial environments where ATMs were breached, in attacks on a nuclear power ...
- Australia: Government considers making cyber ransom payments illegal after Medibank hack
November 13, 2022
It could soon be illegal for companies that fall victim to data breaches to pay ransoms to the hackers. The home affairs minister, Clare O’Neil, confirmed the government was examining whether new laws were needed to stop ransom payments in the wake of the Medibank and Optus data breaches. O’Neil said while short-term successes were needed in ...
- Ukraine says Russian hacktivists use new Somnia ransomware
November 12, 2022
Russian hacktivists have infected multiple organizations in Ukraine with a new ransomware strain called ‘Somnia,’ encrypting their systems and causing operational problems. The Computer Emergency Response Team of Ukraine (CERT-UA) has confirmed the outbreak via an announcement on its portal, attributing the attacks to ‘From Russia with Love’ (FRwL), also known as ‘Z-Team,’ whom they track ...
- US Health Dept warns of Venus ransomware targeting healthcare orgs
November 10, 2022
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) warned today that Venus ransomware attacks are also targeting the country’s healthcare organizations. In an analyst note issued by the Health Sector Cybersecurity Coordination Center (HC3), HHS’ security team also mentions that it knows about at least one incident where Venus ransomware was deployed on the networks ...