Ransomware Intelligence / Groups / 3am
Ransomware group
3am
3AM, also known as ThreeAM, is a relatively new ransomware family that emerged in late 2023, initially deployed as a fallback option when LockBit infections failed. Written in Rust for 64-bit systems, it appends the “.threeamtime” extension to encrypted files and tags them with the marker “0x666,” while deleting Volume Shadow Copies to hinder recovery. 3AM operators use a double extortion strategy, combining file encryption with data theft and threats to leak stolen information. More recent campaigns have shown increased sophistication, incorporating email bombing followed by vishing calls to convince victims to grant remote access via Microsoft Quick Assist. Attackers then deploy virtual machines containing backdoors, allowing them to remain undetected while exfiltrating data before attempting to launch the ransomware payload.
- 0claims, 7 days
- 0claims, 30 days
- 11claims, 90 days
- 2026-05-01first seen
- 2026-10-06last seen
These are claims posted by the group on its leak site, counted when we first see them. They are not confirmed incidents, and we never name a victim.
Activity, last 26 weeks
New leak-site claims per week.
In the news
Recent stories in the security press that name 3am, newest first.
- 3AM Ransomware Used Human-AI Hybrid Tactics in UK School Estate Compromise
- 3AM Affiliate Embraces AI-Like Loops in European School Attack
- UK school estate hit by 3AM ransomware in suspected AI-assisted attack
Headlines are shown as the publisher wrote them and link to the original story. They are third-party reporting, not SecuritySnares findings. How stories are picked
Sectors claimed, last 90 days
Countries claimed, last 90 days
- United States 4
- Argentina 1
- Australia 1
- Colombia 1
- Germany 1
- United Kingdom 1
- MD 1
- Mexico 1
Vulnerabilities 3am exploits
Our sources do not attribute specific vulnerabilities to 3am .
70% of successful ransomware attacks use remote encryption (Microsoft, 2024): files on protected servers are encrypted over the network from a device the attacker controls. Read our remote encryption briefing →
Newest vulnerabilities used by any ransomware group (CISA KEV)
| Added | CVE | Vendor / product | Vulnerability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-08-18 | CVE-2026-59310 | Broadcom VMware vCenter | Broadcom VMware vCenter Path Traversal Vulnerability |
| 2026-08-05 | CVE-2026-63077 | JetBrains TeamCity | JetBrains TeamCity Deserialization of Untrusted Data Vulnerability |
| 2026-07-29 | CVE-2026-20316 | Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center (FMC) | Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center Use of Hard-coded Password Vulnerability |
| 2026-07-14 | CVE-2026-15410 | SonicWall SMA1000 Appliances | SonicWall SMA1000 Appliances Code Injection Vulnerability |
| 2026-07-14 | CVE-2026-15409 | SonicWall SMA1000 Appliances | SonicWall SMA1000 Appliances Server-Side Request Forgery Vulnerability |
| 2026-07-01 | CVE-2026-45659 | Microsoft SharePoint Server | Microsoft SharePoint Server Deserialization of Untrusted Data Vulnerability |
| 2026-06-25 | CVE-2026-12569 | PTC Windchill and FlexPLM | PTC Windchill and FlexPLM Improper Input Validation Vulnerability |
| 2026-06-12 | CVE-2026-35273 | Oracle PeopleSoft Enterprise PeopleTools | Oracle PeopleSoft Enterprise PeopleTools Missing Authentication for Critical Function Vulnerability |
Tactics and techniques
MITRE ATT&CK techniques reported for 3am by Ransomware.live, in attack order.
- Persistence
- Privilege Escalation
- Defense Evasion
- Discovery
- Exfiltration
- Impact
Track 3am in the weekly brief
One email a week: which groups are active in your sector, what they are exploiting, and what to patch. Drafted from the data on this site and read by a human before it goes out. No sales follow-up.
Data sources: CISA KEV, Ransomchats, RansomLook, Ransomware.live, security news outlets · updated 12 hours ago
Sector, country and ransom-demand figures are SecuritySnares estimates made with a language model. Leak-site listings are claims by threat actors and are not independently verified; leak-site victims are never named unless they have disclosed the incident themselves. News headlines are the publishers' own reporting, shown as written and linked to the original. Methodology