From Crisis to Recovery: How We Decrypted 50 Terabytes for a US Tech Firm Under Akira’s Siege
The initial contact came through a short, urgent message: a leading US-based technology firm was paralyzed. The notorious Akira ransomware had breached their defenses, encrypting over 50 terabytes of their most critical data. Proprietary code, sensitive customer files, and essential operational data were all locked behind the dreaded .akira extension. Their global operations were grinding to a halt.
They were facing a stark choice: pay a multi-million dollar ransom to cybercriminals or risk catastrophic data loss. They chose a third option: they reached out to us. This is the story of how we helped them reclaim their data and their business—without paying the ransom.
The Initial Contact: A Lifeline in a Crisis
When a company is hit by ransomware, every second counts, and clarity is paramount. The client’s team provided us with the essential details of the attack via email, outlining the scope and urgency of their situation.
Our response was immediate and focused:
- Rapid Engagement: We acknowledged their request within minutes, assuring them that our specialists were on the case.
- Initial Triage: Our incident responders requested two key items to begin the analysis: a copy of the ransom note and a few sample encrypted files that were non-sensitive. This is a crucial first step to identify the exact Akira variant we were up against.
The Path to Recovery: Analysis & Custom Decryption
With the sample files in hand, our malware analysis team got to work on our secure, isolated servers.
- Proof of Life for Their Data: The first goal was to conduct a test decryption. Within hours, we successfully decrypted their sample files, providing the client’s anxious IT team with the one thing they needed most: proof that their data was not lost forever.
- Engineering the Solution: Seeing the successful test, the client moved forward. Based on our analysis of this latest Akira variant, we engineered two custom decryption tools: one specifically for their Windows servers and another tailored for their complex VMware ESXi environment.
- Efficient & Secure Delivery: The decryptors were delivered securely via email, accompanied by a clear, step-by-step usage guide to empower their internal IT team to begin the recovery process immediately.
The client’s team executed the decryption, and with the help of parallel processing, the entire 50 terabytes of data were successfully decrypted and recovered in approximately six hours.
The Investment in Business Continuity
Our fee for the complete data recovery service was $20,000, settled via Bitcoin.
For the client, this was a clear-cut strategic decision. The alternative was unthinkable: crippling downtime costing millions per day, potential regulatory fines for data loss, and the impossible task of recreating 50 terabytes of proprietary and customer data. By investing in a proven, legal recovery path, they secured their operational future.
Key Takeaways from This Akira Recovery
This case highlights several critical realities of dealing with modern ransomware threats:
- Specialized Tools are Essential: Generic solutions often fail against evolving ransomware. This recovery was only possible because we could analyze the specific variant and build custom decryptors for both Windows and ESXi platforms.
- Speed is Everything: The ability to rapidly analyze, build a solution, and decrypt data in a matter of hours minimized the client’s operational downtime and financial bleeding.
- A “No-Ransom” Path is Possible: This case proves that paying criminals is not the only option. Expert intervention can provide a safe, legal, and effective alternative to funding cybercrime.
By successfully navigating the challenges posed by this advanced Akira attack, we not only restored our client’s full operational capabilities but also affirmed the power of specialized expertise in overcoming today’s most severe cyber threats.
Proof of Successful Decryption
The client’s IT representative gave us permission to share their final confirmation message after all data was successfully restored.
