The Dark Angels ransomware group is a sophisticated cybercriminal operation active since at least 2022, known for its stealthy but high-impact attacks on large organisations. Unlike many “big game” ransomware actors, Dark Angels works in low profile: it typically picks one major target at a time and favours massive data theft over indiscriminate disruption of systems. This strategy has netted the group record-breaking ransom payouts, including an unprecedented $75 million extortion payment from a Fortune 50 company1 in early 2024, the largest known single ransom to date. Security researchers ranked Dark Angels among the top ransomware threats in 2024 due to its success rate and the enormous scope of its breaches.  

In summary, Dark Angels poses a high threat level in the near term: it has demonstrated the capability to infiltrate well-defended enterprises globally, steal tens of terabytes of sensitive data, and extort multi-million dollar ransoms while largely avoiding public attention and law enforcement action.