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Researchers and incident responders reported that Akira ransomware affiliates used a repeatable intrusion playbook built around stolen VPN credentials and exploitation of internet-facing appliances, including Fortinet flaws CVE-2019-6693 and CVE-2022-40684 and Cisco ASA/FTD flaw CVE-2023-20269. Recovered attacker infrastructure exposed direct evidence of reconnaissance, credential theft, and exfiltration activity, including decrypted Fortinet configurations, password-protected RAR archives containing stolen victim data, and command history showing downloads from a public-facing victim server. Investigators said the operators relied heavily on legitimate administration tools such as AnyDesk, TeamViewer, OpenSSH, MobaXterm, PowerShell, WMI, Impacket, WinSCP, FileZilla, and Cloudflared, while moving laterally through RDP and SMB and attempting to disable defenses, erase evidence, and destroy Veeam backups before encryption.
Analysis of Akira’s malware and victim activity showed a double-extortion model that spans both Windows and Linux environments. The Linux variant supports selective path targeting, network-share encryption, partial encryption, file exclusions, and multithreaded execution using AES and RSA, dropping akira_readme.txt ransom notes with Tor-based contact details. Reporting also tied Akira to broad U.S.-focused targeting across sectors and suggested some operators may overlap with other ransomware-as-a-service programs, including possible links to Snatch. The group’s activity continued to affect organizations such as Texas-based CF Supply, where attackers were reported to have compromised corporate data that could include client project records, personal information, contracts, and agreements.
TTPs, infrastructure, and targeting history in one profile.
8 events from the most recent confirmed update back to the earliest known activity.
The Akira-attributed breach affecting CF Supply was discovered on 2026-08-13 at 13:24 UTC, according to the source report.
CF Supply, a Texas-based construction products company, was listed as the victim of an Akira-attributed ransomware and data breach incident. The source listed the breach date as 2026-08-13 and said attackers planned to upload corporate data that could include project information, personal information, contracts, and agreements.
On 2023-07-21, CERT-In issued an alert stating that Akira ransomware leveraged publicly known VPN appliance vulnerabilities for initial access.
In late June 2023, Stairwell recovered a publicly exposed 99 GB home directory from a server used to exploit Fortinet appliances and support attacks associated with Akira ransomware. The dataset provided direct visibility into attacker tooling, reconnaissance, and exfiltration activity.
One consulting company whose IP address later appeared among Stairwell's observed targets had reportedly been attacked by the Snatch ransomware group in early June 2023.
CERT Intrinsec reported that the Akira ransomware group began operating in March 2023.
CERT Intrinsec analyzed several Akira ransomware incidents from the first half of 2023 and documented a recurring three-phase intrusion pattern involving initial access, stealthy data assessment and exfiltration, and final encryption.
A later malware analysis documented a Linux-targeting Akira ransomware variant, describing its execution parameters, ransom note behavior, encryption design, and support for encrypting network shares.
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Sophos reported that **Akira** has become a major threat to small and medium-sized organizations across Europe, North America, and Australia, hitting sectors including government, manufacturing, technology, education, consulting, pharmaceuticals, and telecommunications. The group commonly gained initial access through unauthorized logins to **Cisco ASA SSL VPN** and **Cisco AnyConnect** systems that lacked MFA, and in some cases exploited `CVE-2023-20269` and Veeam `CVE-2023-27532`. Researchers said Akira operators routinely stole credentials, moved laterally, established persistence, and attempted to evade defenses before either encrypting systems or stealing data for extortion. Sophos said Akira shifted notably toward **extortion-only** operations beginning in late 2023, exfiltrating data without always deploying ransomware. During intrusions, the actors dumped **LSASS**, extracted `NTDS.dit` and `SYSTEM` hives, targeted Veeam, browser, and KeePass credentials, and used tools including **Mimikatz, AdFind, Advanced IP Scanner, RDP, SMB, wmiexec, PsExec, AnyDesk, WinRAR, rclone, and MEGA**. The report also identified a previously unreported backdoor, **`crome.exe`**, communicating with `170.130.165[.]171`, alongside repeated efforts to disable Sophos and Microsoft Defender protections. When encryption was used, Akira deployed binaries such as `w.exe`, `Lck.exe`, `1.exe`, and `locker.exe`, appended the `.akira` extension, dropped `akira_readme.txt`, deleted Volume Shadow Copies, and in one case encrypted about 65,000 files on a server.
Aug 14, 2026
Sophos reported that newly emerged **Akira ransomware** was deployed in two separate April 2023 attacks against organizations in North America, with victims’ files renamed using the `.akira` extension and ransom notes dropped as `fn.txt`. The company said the strain appears unrelated to a 2017 ransomware family of the same name. In one intrusion, attackers gained access to an account through **MFA bypass** activity linked to **TOR exit nodes**, dumped `LSASS` memory via `comsvcs.dll` launched with `rundll32.exe`, moved laterally over **RDP**, tampered with **Windows Defender**, installed **AnyDesk**, and launched encryption after about seven days in the environment. In the second case, attackers entered through **single-factor VPN access**, likely harvested credentials as indicated by `MEMORY.DMP`, conducted reconnaissance with **Advanced IP Scanner** and **LANSweeper** data, used **Cloudflare Tunnel** and **Radmin** for remote access, and staged data with **WinRAR** before deploying ransomware after more than 30 days. Sophos said Akira targeted a relatively narrow set of 26 file extensions, focusing largely on databases, virtual disks, and memory image files while avoiding some file types to preserve system stability, and noted that the slower pace of both operations created multiple opportunities for defenders to detect and disrupt the attacks before encryption.
Jun 29, 2026
U.S. and European cyber authorities released an updated joint advisory detailing the latest tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) used by the Akira ransomware group, which has rapidly become one of the most consequential ransomware threats targeting critical infrastructure and businesses worldwide. The advisory, supported by agencies including CISA, FBI, DoD Cyber Crime Center, HHS, Europol, and law enforcement from France, Germany, and the Netherlands, highlights Akira’s evolution, its double-extortion model, and its targeting of sectors such as manufacturing, education, IT, healthcare, financial, and agriculture. Akira actors exploit vulnerabilities in edge devices, backup servers, and VPN products—including SonicWall (CVE-2024-40766), Cisco, Windows, VMware ESXi, and Veeam—using techniques like credential theft, brute-force attacks, and initial access brokers. They employ remote management tools (AnyDesk, LogMeIn) for defense evasion, uninstall endpoint detection and response (EDR) systems, and leverage custom malware such as POORTRY for privilege escalation. As of late September 2025, Akira has extorted over $244 million in ransom payments, primarily from small- and medium-sized businesses. The group is associated with other threat actors such as Storm-1567, Howling Scorpius, Punk Spider, and Gold Sahara, and may have links to the disbanded Conti group. The FBI ranks Akira among the top five ransomware variants it investigates, citing its significant financial and operational impact on victims. The advisory provides updated indicators of compromise (IOCs), detection methods, and a list of newly exploited vulnerabilities to help organizations defend against Akira’s ongoing campaigns.
Jun 29, 2026