Babuk2 appears to be a recently emerged ransomware operation first observed in January 2025, representing either a new variant or successor to the original Babuk ransomware group, with apparent financial motivations based on their targeting patterns across multiple sectors and geographic regions. Given the limited timeframe since their emergence and the naming convention, this group likely operates independently or represents a rebrand/evolution of previous Babuk operations, though definitive attribution remains unclear due to the recency of their activities. Based on their targeting patterns across diverse sectors including public sector entities, technology companies, healthcare organizations, and manufacturing firms, the group appears to employ broad-spectrum attack methodologies typical of modern ransomware operations, though specific technical details regarding their initial access vectors, encryption methods, and extortion tactics have not yet been extensively documented by major security researchers. With 180 documented victims across multiple countries including significant activity in the United States, Brazil, India, Indonesia, and China within just the first month of 2025, Babuk2 has demonstrated a notably aggressive operational tempo, though specific high-profile incidents or ransom demands have not yet been publicly detailed by major cybersecurity firms or law enforcement agencies. The group appears to remain actively operational as of early 2025, though their recent emergence means long-term operational patterns and potential law enforcement responses are still developing. The group has been linked to 180 public disclosures across our corpus. First observed on a leak site on January 27, 2025; most recent post April 23, 2025. The operation is currently inactive.
Sector and geography
This disclosure adds to ransomware activity in the Manufacturing sector, which has 2,458 disclosures indexed across all operators we track. Geographically, rheinmetall.com (Rheinmetall Defence) is reported in Germany, a country with 695 ransomware disclosures in our corpus.
How we know this. Darkfield monitors public ransomware leak sites continuously, archiving every new disclosure and the data later released against the victim. Each entry on this page is sourced from the operator's own publication and cross-checked against complementary OSINT feeds (RansomLook, ransomware.live, RansomWatch). We do not collect or host stolen data — only the metadata, timestamps and screenshots needed to make the public disclosure searchable and accountable. Records here are corrected when the original post is edited, retracted, or merged with another disclosure.
