Ransomware encrypts or steals data to disrupt operations and extort victims, making backups, access controls, and incident response essential.
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Background for this topic.
Ransomware is malware used to deny access to systems or data, usually by encrypting files and demanding payment for decryption. Many operations also steal sensitive information and threaten to publish it, so an attack can create both an availability crisis and a privacy or disclosure risk. Initial access may involve phishing, stolen credentials, exposed remote services, or exploitation of unpatched vulnerabilities; attackers may then move through the network before deploying the payload.
Defenses should combine vulnerability management, phishing-resistant authentication where practical, endpoint and network monitoring, and backups that are isolated from routine administrator access and regularly tested for recovery. Organizations should also limit privileges and segment critical systems to reduce the blast radius. An incident requires rapid containment, preservation of forensic evidence, restoration from known-good backups, and assessment of notification, legal, and regulatory obligations. Threat intelligence can help identify relevant criminal infrastructure or tactics, but it does not replace sound access control, patching, detection, and recovery practices.
The Akira ransomware group has been experimenting with new tools, bugs, and attack surfaces, with demonstrated success in significant sectors.
Amazon spilled the TEA Yet another supply chain attack has hit the npm registry in what Amazon describes as "one of the largest package flooding incidents in open source registry history" - but with a twist. Instead of injecting credential-stealing code or ransomware into the packages, this one is a token farming campaign.…
Advisory updated as leading cybercrime crew opens up its target pool The US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has issued new guidance to organizations on the Akira ransomware operation, which poses an imminent threat to critical sectors.…
Akira ransomware has extorted $244M since September 2025, with some attacks exfiltrating data in just two hours, a joint cybersecurity advisory warns
Key Takeaways: 85 active ransomware and extortion groups observed in Q3 2025, reflecting the most decentralized ransomware ecosystem to date
The Kraken ransomware, which targets Windows, Linux/VMware ESXi systems, is testing machines to check how fast it can encrypt data without overloading them. [...]
US government agencies are warning that the Akira ransomware operation has been spotted encrypting Nutanix AHV virtual machines in attacks. [...]
British Health System Investigates Claim Amid Wave of Enterprise Data TheftsRansomware gang Clop has claimed the United Kingdom's National Health Service among its latest victims. The NHS confirmed that it is listed on a cybercriminal group's dark website, but did not comment on Clop's claims. The hack attack appears tied to Oracle E-Business Suite exploits.
Checkout.com will instead donate the amount to fund cybercrime research Ransomware is a huge business, because affected orgs keep forking over money to get their data back. However, instead of paying a ransom demand after getting hit by extortionists last week, payment services provider Checkout.com donated the demanded amount to fund cybercrime research.…
Malware families like Rhadamanthys Stealer, Venom RAT, and the Elysium botnet have been disrupted as part of a coordinated law enforcement operation led by Europol and Eurojust
Synnovis's 18-month forensic review of Qilin intrusion completed, now affected patients to be notified Synnovis has finally wrapped up its investigation into the 2024 ransomware attack that crippled pathology services across London, ending an 18-month effort to untangle what the NHS supplier describes as one of the most complex data reconstruction jobs it has ever faced.…
NHS provider Synnovis is notifying clients about the extent of a data breach 17 months after it suffered a ransomware attack
Synnovis, a leading UK pathology services provider, is notifying healthcare providers that a data breach occurred following a ransomware attack in June 2024, which resulted in the theft of some patients' data. [...]
Ransomware Attack on British Pathology Lab Disrupted Patient Care for MonthsBritish pathology laboratory services firm Synnovis has completed a forensics review of data stolen in a June 2024 ransomware attack and is notifying affected healthcare organizations. Those providers will be responsible for notifying their own affected patients, if deemed necessary, the firm said.
Qilin group ransomware incidents have surged in SMBs, exploiting security gaps and collaborating with Scattered Spider threat group
A sudden CPU spike turned out to be the first clue of an in-progress RansomHub ransomware attack. Varonis breaks down how their team traced the attack from fake browser updates to domain-admin takeover, ultimately stopping the attack before files were encrypted. [...]
Clop's Oracle EBS exploit spree shows no sign of slowing, claims nearly 30 more casualties in media, finance, and tech. Digital engineering outfit GlobalLogic says personal data from more than 10,000 current and former employees was exposed in the wave of Oracle E-Business Suite (EBS) attacks attributed to the Clop ransomware gang. The Hitachi-owned biz joins a growing roster of high-profile victims that also now includes The Washington Post and Allianz UK.…
Massive increase in policy claims… and data doesn’t even cover the major attacks of 2025 The number of successful cyber insurance claims made by UK organizations shot up last year, according to the latest figures from the industry's trade association.…
A Russian national will plead guilty to acting as an initial access broker (IAB) for Yanluowang ransomware attacks that targeted at least eight U.S. companies between July 2021 and November 2022. [...]
A Russian national will plead guilty to acting as an initial access broker (IAB) for Yanluowang ransomware attacks that targeted at least eight U.S. companies between July 2021 and November 2022. [...]