RansomHub ransomware group lists acquafertil.com.br on its leak site

• Ransomware group: RansomHub
• Country: Brazil
• Sector: Agriculture and Food Production
• Announcement date: January 8, 2025

The RansomHub ransomware group has listed the Brazilian organization acquafertil.com.br on its dedicated leak site. According to the group's announcement, the threat actor claims to have successfully breached the organization's systems and exfiltrated a variety of sensitive files. This listing, which appeared on the group's platform on January 8, 2025, follows a claimed intrusion date of December 27, 2024.

Details of the claimed attack

The RansomHub group asserts that they gained unauthorized access to the internal systems of acquafertil.com.br. This breach, which allegedly occurred in late December 2024, has resulted in the group claiming possession of a significant amount of internal documentation. The group has provided screenshots as evidence of the breach, which appear to show various aspects of the organization's digital environment.

The evidence provided by the threat actors includes various types of internal data. The screenshots shared by the group depict internal correspondence, invoices, financial statements, and the underlying file directory structures of the organization. Such evidence is a common tactic used by ransomware groups to pressure victims into paying ransoms by proving that they have indeed accessed the target's private environment.

Data types involved in the breach

Based on the screenshots and the information provided by the RansomHub group, the leaked data allegedly contains several categories of sensitive information. The group claims to have accessed administrative documents, engineering files, human resources records, financial data, sales reports, and invoices. Furthermore, the screenshots reveal the organization's system directory structures.

The specific types of data identified in the claim include:

• Financial data
• Administrative documents
• Human resources records
• Sales reports
• Invoices

Organization profile

Acquafertil is a Brazil-based agricultural and fertilizer company. The organization provides various fertilizer solutions and agricultural products designed to enhance agricultural productivity.

Impact assessment and industry context

The claims made by RansomHub could have significant consequences for the organization. The exposure of such data may create negative impacts on the operational continuity and the commercial reputation of the company. Furthermore, the presence of financial and personal information within the leaked data may pose secondary risks to the organization's employees and customers, such as the potential for identity theft or targeted phishing attacks.

From a regulatory perspective, under Brazil's LGPD (General Data Protection Law), the organization may face specific obligations regarding data breach notifications and could potentially face administrative sanctions. The nature of the threat aligns with the known tactics of the RansomHub group, which typically employs double-extortion methods. In a double-extortion scenario, attackers not only encrypt the victim's data but also steal it, threatening to publish it on a leak site unless a ransom is paid.

It is worth noting that some reports suggest the RansomHub group may have ceased operations in early 2025, which could indicate that these leaks are among the group's final activities. For organizations in the agriculture and food production sector, maintaining robust cybersecurity defenses is critical to protecting sensitive commercial and personal data. Common defensive strategies often include implementing multi-factor authentication, maintaining regular offline backups, and conducting regular security awareness training to mitigate the risk of phishing and unauthorized access.