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Astero

Claimed by Meow · listed 2 years ago

26 GB
Data size
21m
Age
since listed · data leaked

Status timeline

  1. ListedOct 14, 2024
  2. Data leakeddate unknown

At a glance

Group
Meow
Status
Data leaked
Country
Norway
Listed on leak site
Oct 14, 2024
Data size
26 GB

About the victim

AI dossier — public-source company profile

Astero is a Norwegian employment and training services company based in Molde that supports workforce inclusion through vocational training, apprenticeships, career counseling, and customized training programs. They operate multiple divisions including Astero Kurssenter (training center), mechanical work services, and specialized programs for job seekers and employers seeking skilled personnel.

Industry
Employment Services, Vocational Training & Career Development
Address
Marsvegen 4, 6419 Molde, Norway
Employees
430

Attack summary

Severity: critical — Confirmed exfiltration and publication of 26 GB of sensitive regulated data including PII at scale (passport/license scans, dates of birth, addresses), medical documents, financial records, and employment contracts affecting hundreds of employees and clients. Medical data and government ID scans constitute particularly sensitive personal information.

The Meow group claims to have exfiltrated 26 GB of confidential data from Astero's systems. The group has published the data and is advertising it for sale, claiming access to employee and client records, financial documents, and personal identification data.

critical

Data the group says was taken

AI dossier — extracted from the leak post
  • employee data
  • client information
  • financial documents (invoices, credit notes, bank statements)
  • personal data (dates of birth, employment contracts)
  • passport and driver's license scans
  • addresses
  • insurance and tax documents
  • medical documents and diagnoses
  • employment agreements and certificates

What the group claims

<p>Dear customers!</p><p>We are excited to offer you exclusive access to over 26 GB of confidential data from Astero, a Norwegian company based in Molde, specializing in providing employment and training services. Asteros mission is to support individuals, particularly those at risk of falling out of the workforce, through personalized guidance, career counseling, and work training programs. Their Astero Kurssenter offers courses and certifications aimed at improving skills and reducing workplace risks.</p><p>Astero serves both employers and job seekers by offering customized vocational training, apprenticeships, and employment opportunities. Their initiatives focus on job training for individuals with specific needs, fostering workplace inclusion, and enhancing employability through practical courses. In addition to career services, Astero operates divisions in mechanical work and production, supporting local industries and community development.</p><p>This comprehensive data pack includes:</p><p>Employee data<br>Client information<br>Financial documents, including invoices, credit notes, bank statements, and company credit documents<br>Personal data including dates of birth, employment contracts, passport and drivers license scans<br>Agreements and certificates<br>Addresses<br>Insurance and tax documents company insurance policies, termination notices, and annual tax reports<br>Medical documents and reports medical diagnoses and certificates<br>And much more<br>These records provide valuable insights into Asteros operations and may be of significant interest to business analysts, employment services professionals, and other stakeholders.</p><p>To gain access to this exclusive 26 GB data pack, simply click the Buy button and provide your contact details for registration. Our team will promptly reach out to ensure a secure and confidential transaction.</p><p>Dont miss the opportunity to explore valuable information from Astero with this exclusive data pack!</p>

Sources

Source

Indexed 2 years ago

This page surfaces a public ransomware disclosure indexed by Darkfield. Original posts come from the operator's own leak site; we cross-check against ransomware.live, RansomLook and RansomWatch where applicable. Share this URL freely.

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Disclosure context

About Meow

Meow is a relatively new ransomware group that emerged in November 2023, primarily motivated by financial gain through extortion activities targeting organizations across multiple sectors. The group has compromised at least 145 known victims in a short operational timeframe, demonstrating rapid scaling of their criminal enterprise. Based on their targeting patterns, Meow appears to focus heavily on English-speaking countries, with the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada representing their primary victim base, though they have also expanded operations to include targets in Italy and Colombia. The group shows a preference for attacking business services organizations, manufacturing companies, healthcare institutions, and agriculture and food production entities, suggesting they may employ broad-spectrum targeting rather than highly specialized sector focus. Their emergence in late 2023 and the significant victim count achieved in a relatively short period indicates either a sophisticated operation with experienced operators or potential links to existing ransomware ecosystems, though specific details about their attack methodology, initial access vectors, encryption techniques, or data exfiltration practices have not been extensively documented by major threat intelligence sources. Given the recent timeline of their emergence and limited public reporting from established security researchers, detailed technical analysis of their tools, tactics, and procedures remains sparse. The group appears to remain active as of current reporting, though comprehensive law enforcement actions or major disruption efforts have not been publicly documented. The group has been linked to 145 public disclosures across our corpus. First observed on a leak site on November 24, 2023; most recent post November 19, 2024. The operation is currently inactive.

Timeline of this disclosure

  • October 14, 2024Astero listed by Meowon the group's public leak site
Data size
26 GB

Other recent disclosures by Meow

Meow has been linked to 145 public victims on Darkfield. A sample of the most recent:

See the full Meow dossier →

Sector and geography

Geographically, Astero is reported in Norway, a country with 41 ransomware disclosures in our corpus.

If your organisation is affected

A listing by Meow means Astero appeared on a ransomware extortion site and data attributed to it has been published. If this is your organisation, or a supplier you depend on, the priority is to confirm the intrusion and contain it before the window to act closes.

  • Engage your incident-response team and preserve forensic evidence before remediating — do not wipe affected systems first.
  • Force a password reset and revoke active sessions for exposed accounts; rotate any credentials, API keys or certificates that may have been in the stolen data.
  • Assess regulatory notification duties (GDPR, NIS2, sector regulators) — many carry a 72-hour reporting clock from awareness.
  • Report the incident to your national CERT, NorCERT (Norway), as required for your jurisdiction.
  • Monitor for the data appearing on Meow's leak site and across paste and breach channels, and brief downstream partners who may be exposed through you.

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.