The hackers behind the program target computers running Windows and Linux systems and use ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) services. During the year, Akira hackers stole $42 million from more than 250 organizations in North America, Europe and Australia.
Singapore authorities have advised local firms not to transfer cryptocurrencies to hackers, as this will not guarantee that attackers will regain control of the data and will not publish compromised information. Moreover, attackers may try to carry out another attack in the hope of getting even more ransom.
City-state organizations are strongly recommended to take measures to enhance security: enable multi-factor identification (MFA) and system encryption, filter network traffic, and disable unused ports and hyperlinks.
Recently, the victim of Akira hackers was the Singapore law firm Shake Lin & Bok, which agreed to pay $1.4 million in bitcoins to regain access to the document management system.