Ruag paid ransom to blackmailers after hacker attack
Keystone-SDA
The federally owned defence company RUAG has paid hackers a ransom. This was in response to a demand from the hacker group Akira, which hacked and blackmailed the RUAG subsidiary LLC in the US last autumn.
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“We paid a small amount and fortunately got all the data back,” said Jürg Rötheli, chairman of the RUAG Board of Directors, on Swiss public radio SRF on Saturday. He did not give an exact amount.
The hackers had stolen data from the US subsidiary’s systems in autumn 2025 and threatened to publish it.
+ US subsidiary of Swiss defence contractor hacked
The decision contradicts the recommendations of the Federal Office for Cybersecurity (FOCBS), which generally advises against paying ransoms to cyber criminals. Such payments could encourage further attacks and contribute to the financing of criminal activities.
Translated from German by AI/jdp
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