Dark Angels Ransomware Receives Record-Breaking $75 Million Ransom

'A Fortune 50 company paid a record-breaking $75 million ransom payment to the Dark Angels ransomware gang,' writes BleepingComputer's Lawrence Abrams, citing a report (PDF) by Zscaler ThreatLabz. From the report: The largest known ransom payment was previously $40 million, which insurance giant CNA paid after suffering an Evil Corp ransomware attack. While Zscaler did not share what company paid the $75 million ransom, they mentioned the company was in the Fortune 50 and the attack occurred in early 2024. One Fortune 50 company that suffered a cyberattack in February 2024 is pharmaceutical giant Cencora, ranked #10 on the list. No ransomware gang ever claimed responsibility for the attack, potentially indicating that a ransom was paid.

Zscaler ThreatLabz says that Dark Angels utilizes the 'Big Game Hunting' strategy, which is to target only a few high-value companies in the hopes of massive payouts rather than many companies at once for numerous but smaller ransom payments. 'The Dark Angels group employs a highly targeted approach, typically attacking a single large company at a time,' explains the Zscaler ThreatLabz researchers. 'This is in stark contrast to most ransomware groups, which target victims indiscriminately and outsource most of the attack to affiliate networks of initial access brokers and penetration testing teams.' According to Chainalysis, the Big Game Hunting tactic has become a dominant trend utilized by numerous ransomware gangs over the past few years.

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