Akira is a ransomware family that can disrupt systems, with coverage of reported incidents, technical analysis, disruption efforts, and defensive guidance.
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Background for this topic.
Akira is a ransomware family known for encrypting victims’ files and demanding payment for decryption keys. It typically targets Windows systems, using strong encryption algorithms to lock data and hinder recovery without the attacker’s cooperation. Akira ransomware often appends specific file extensions to encrypted files and may leave ransom notes with instructions for payment.
From a security perspective, Akira poses risks including data loss and operational disruption. Defenders should focus on maintaining up-to-date backups, applying timely patches to reduce vulnerabilities that could enable initial access, and monitoring for indicators of compromise such as unusual file encryption activity or ransom note creation. Network segmentation and endpoint detection can help contain infections and support incident response efforts against Akira ransomware attacks.
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US government agencies are warning that the Akira ransomware operation has been spotted encrypting Nutanix AHV virtual machines in attacks. [...]
The Apache Software Foundation disputes claims that its OpenOffice project suffered an Akira ransomware attack, after the threat actors claimed to have stolen 23 GB of corporate documents. [...]
Ongoing Akira ransomware attacks targeting SonicWall SSL VPN devices continue to evolve, with the threat actors found to be successfully authenticating despite OTP MFA being enabled on accounts. [...]
The Akira ransomware gang is actively exploiting CVE-2024-40766, a year-old critical-severity access control vulnerability, to gain unauthorized access to SonicWall devices. [...]
SonicWall says that recent Akira ransomware attacks exploiting Gen 7 firewalls with SSLVPN enabled are exploiting an older vulnerability rather than a zero-day flaw. [...]
Akira ransomware is abusing a legitimate Intel CPU tuning driver to turn off Microsoft Defender in attacks from security tools and EDRs running on target machines. [...]
SonicWall firewall devices have been increasingly targeted since late July in a surge of Akira ransomware attacks, potentially exploiting a previously unknown security vulnerability, according to cybersecurity company Arctic Wolf. [...]
Hitachi Vantara, a subsidiary of Japanese multinational conglomerate Hitachi, was forced to take servers offline over the weekend to contain an Akira ransomware attack. [...]
Security researcher Yohanes Nugroho has released a decryptor for the Linux variant of Akira ransomware, which utilizes GPU power to retrieve the decryption key and unlock files for free. [...]
The Akira ransomware gang was spotted using an unsecured webcam to launch encryption attacks on a victim's network, effectively circumventing Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR), which was blocking the encryptor in Windows. [...]
The Akira ransomware gang was spotted using an unsecured webcam to launch encryption attacks on a victim's network, effectively circumventing Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR), which was blocking the encryptor in Windows. [...]
After being used in Akira and Fog ransomware attacks, a critical Veeam Backup & Replication (VBR) security flaw was also recently exploited to deploy Frag ransomware. [...]
Fog and Akira ransomware operators have increased their exploitation efforts of CVE-2024-40766, a critical access control flaw that allows unauthorized access to resources on the SSL VPN feature of SonicWall SonicOS firewalls. [...]
Ransomware gangs now exploit a critical security vulnerability that lets attackers gain remote code execution (RCE) on vulnerable Veeam Backup & Replication (VBR) servers. [...]
According to a joint advisory from the FBI, CISA, Europol's European Cybercrime Centre (EC3), and the Netherlands' National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC-NL), the Akira ransomware operation has breached the networks of over 250 organizations and raked in roughly $42 million in ransom payments. [...]
Nissan Oceania is warning of a data breach impacting 100,000 people after suffering a cyberattack in December 2023 that was claimed by the Akira ransomware operation. [...]
Finnish IT services and enterprise cloud hosting provider Tietoevry has suffered a ransomware attack impacting cloud hosting customers in one of its data centers in Sweden, with the attack reportedly conducted by the Akira ransomware gang. [...]
The Finish National Cybersecurity Center (NCSC-FI) is informing of increased Akira ransomware activity in December, targeting companies in the country and wiping backups. [...]
Some organizations victimized by the Royal and Akira ransomware gangs have been targeted by a threat actor posing as a security researcher who promised to hack back the original attacker and delete stolen victim data. [...]
Today, the Akira ransomware gang claimed that it breached the network of Nissan Australia, the Australian division of Japanese car maker Nissan. [...]