Akira ransomware is now targeting Nutanix VMs - and scoring big rewards

• Akira now encrypts Nutanix AHV VM disk files using SonicWall and Veeam vulnerabilities
• CVE-2024-40766 enabled access to firewalls; Akira used remote tools for lateral movement
• Akira has extorted over $240 million; users urged to patch and enforce MFA

The Akira ransomware operation is now also targeting Nutanix AHV VM disk files, and seeing considerable success, an updated security advisory published by the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), the Department of Defense Cyber Crime Center (DC3), and other agencies has said.

The update states Akira was observed encrypting Nutanix AHV VM disk files for the first time, in June 2025.

In the attack, the threat actors abused an improper access control vulnerability in the SonicWall SonicOS.