A Fortune 50 company paid a record-breaking $75 million ransom payment to the Dark Angels ransomware gang in early 2024. This is higher than any previously known amount and surpasses the previous largest known ransom payment of $40 million, which was paid by insurance giant CNA after an Evil Corp ransomware attack.
Dark Angels is a ransomware operation that launched in May 2022 and targets companies worldwide. The group breaches corporate networks, steals data from compromised servers, and demands ransoms. They have been known to use Linux encryptors, including one used by Ragnar Locker since 2021, which was disrupted by law enforcement in 2023.
The Dark Angels gang employs a “Big Game Hunting” strategy, targeting only a few high-value companies at a time in hopes of massive payouts rather than many companies for smaller ransom payments. This approach has become a dominant trend among numerous ransomware gangs over the past few years.
Source: https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/dark-angels-ransomware-receives-record-breaking-75-million-ransom/