Ransomware
Ongoing coverage on Ransomware.
Latest coverage
Nearly half of organisations falling victim to ransomware encryption pay up, says report—although half of those often negotiate the payment down first
A report by Sophos indicates that nearly half of organizations experiencing ransomware encryption pay their attackers, often negotiating the ransom down from the initial demand. While median ransom payments and demands have decreased, the success rate of attacks in encrypting data has increased, leading to higher average recovery costs.
Coca-Cola's dairy company fairlife hit with a ransomware attack
Coca-Cola has halted US operations of its dairy company, fairlife, following a ransomware attack. The extent of the impact on operations and data remains under investigation.
A ransomware negotiator who colluded with attackers to scam victims was sentenced to 70 months in prison
Angelo Martino, a ransomware negotiator, has been sentenced to 70 months in prison for colluding with attackers and scamming victims out of over $75 million. The case highlights a criminal element within the ransomware negotiation industry.
Evening Safety Dance
A new cybersecurity threat involves a destructive Windows backdoor that bundles multiple wipers and ransomware into a single package. This sophisticated attack method was highlighted by a case where a ransomware negotiator was found to be working for the attackers, representing victims while secretly aiding the perpetrators.
Evening Safety Dance
A developer reported being warned by Google about an account hijack, only to be subsequently charged $11,000. Separately, a new ransomware attack utilized an AI agent for an end-to-end operation.
Hacker Group Claims To Have Stolen Nintendo Data, Posts $2 Million Ransom
A hacking group named ShadowByt3$ claims to have stolen 859MB of Nintendo employee data, including personal and financial information, and is demanding a $2 million ransom. The group alleges the data was accessed through a third-party HR program used by Nintendo. The company has not yet commented on the unverified breach.
Hacker Group Steals Nintendo Employee Data, Posts $2 Million Ransom
A hacking group named ShadowByt3$ claims to have stolen 859MB of Nintendo employee data, including personal information and financial statements, via the third-party HR service TinyPulse. The group is demanding a $2 million ransom. Nintendo of America confirmed a limited breach of internal survey data from several years ago, stating that no customer or financial data was compromised and that they are working with the service provider to address the issue.
Morning Safety Dance
An investigation by Krebs on Security seeks to identify the individuals behind the ransomware group known as 'The Gentlemen.' The article delves into the operational methods and potential leadership of this cybercriminal organization.
Evening Legal Briefs
An article from The Register discusses a criminal who violated the unwritten rules of ransomware operations. The piece highlights a breach of protocol within the ransomware community.
Evening Safety Dance
The article highlights cybersecurity vulnerabilities from the week of May 18, 2026, as reported by CISA. It also discusses the decision MyPillow faces regarding ransomware demands and questions the lack of investigation into such incidents.
Teaching software company strikes a deal with hackers to get customer data back, defying FBI guidance
Education technology company Instructure has reached an agreement with the hacker group ShinyHunters, who exfiltrated hundreds of gigabytes of data from its Canvas learning management system. The stolen data, potentially exposing the names, email addresses, and private messages of about 280 million users, has reportedly been returned and confirmed as destroyed. This action defies FBI guidance that advises against paying ransoms to cybercriminals.
Morning Safety Dance
The Canvas learning management system, developed by Instructure, has been impacted by a cyberattack. Reports indicate the incident involves a new form of ransomware, with Microsoft also issuing statements regarding password security in relation to such threats.
Morning Legal Briefs
MindsEye Developer is facing employee backlash over its surveillance software. Additionally, Ofcom is investigating Telegram for concerns related to child sexual abuse material, and a third ransomware professional has pleaded guilty.
Cybersecurity expert turns cybercriminal, pleading guilty to 'conspiracy to deploy ransomware'
Three former cybersecurity professionals have pleaded guilty to deploying Blackcat/ALPHV ransomware, extorting victims for over $1.2 million in Bitcoin. One individual, while working as a ransomware negotiator, leaked confidential victim information to the attackers. The BlackCat/ALPHV group is reportedly defunct due to increased law enforcement efforts.
An Update On GTA 6 Developer Rockstar Games Being Hacked | Console Creatures
Rockstar Games has confirmed a limited data breach affecting non-material company information, with no impact on the organization or its players. The hacking group ShinyHunters claimed responsibility, alleging access to Rockstar's Snowflake cloud servers and demanding a ransom. This incident follows a previous hack in 2022 that leaked early gameplay footage.
Ahead Of GTA 6, Rockstar Hacked By Ransomware Group Again
Rockstar Games has confirmed a data breach affecting its third-party cloud provider, Anodot, which was targeted by the ransomware group ShinyHunters. While Rockstar stated that only a limited amount of non-material company information was accessed and they will not pay the ransom, the incident follows previous security issues and recent layoffs. The breach occurred ahead of the highly anticipated release of Grand Theft Auto 6.
Hackers demand ransom from GTA6 studio Rockstar, threaten to leak stolen data
Rockstar Games has confirmed a data breach by the hacking group ShinyHunters, who are threatening to leak stolen company information unless a ransom is paid. Rockstar stated that only a limited amount of non-material information was accessed and that the incident has no impact on the organization or its players. The hackers claim to have gained access through a breach of Rockstar's outsourced cloud storage provider, Snowflake, via a third-party analytics tool called Anodot.
GTA 6 Dev Confirms Another Data Breach, Hackers Demand Ransom
Rockstar Games has confirmed a limited data breach affecting non-material company information, following claims by hacker group ShinyHunters of compromising Snowflake instances used by the studio. The hackers are demanding a ransom by April 14th, 2026, threatening to leak sensitive materials if their demands are not met. Rockstar Games stated the incident has no impact on the organization or its players.
‘Pay or leak’: Hackers breach Rockstar Games and demand ransom with a graphic straight from Cyberpunk 2077
Hackers known as ShinyHunters have breached Rockstar Games' security, exploiting a vulnerability in the AI analytics tool Anodot to access their Snowflake data warehouse. The group is demanding a ransom and threatening to leak sensitive information, using a ransom demand graphic styled after Cyberpunk 2077. Rockstar Games has confirmed the breach but stated it has no impact on the organization or its players.