FBI and Europol officials have recently revealed that the Akira ransomware group has successfully drained a total of $42 million from 250 different firms since March of 2023. This joint statement was issued by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Europol, CISA, Europol’s European Cybercrime Centre (EC3), and the Netherlands’ National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC-NL). Ransomware is a form of malicious software that prevents users from accessing their devices and the data stored on them by encrypting their files.
The statement also mentioned that Akira ransomware has had a significant impact on businesses in North America, Europe, and Australia. In addition to this, the security organizations provided technical details about the attacks. Furthermore, an operation took place in February where the website of the major crypto ransomware operator, LockBit, was taken down in a coordinated effort by international enforcement agencies. The website now displays a message confirming that it is under the control of law enforcement.
According to the Chainalysis 2024 Crypto Crime Report, 2023 saw a major resurgence in ransomware attacks, with record-breaking payments and a significant increase in the scale and complexity of these attacks. This marks a significant shift from the decline observed in 2022. As a result of these attacks and others, ransomware groups have surpassed $1 billion in extorted cryptocurrency payments from their victims.