Apache OpenOffice, an open-source office suite project maintained by the Apache Software Foundation (ASF), is currently disputing claims of a significant data breach allegedly perpetrated by the Akira ransomware gang.
On October 30, 2025, Akira published a post on its data leak site asserting that it had compromised Apache OpenOffice and exfiltrated 23 GB of sensitive corporate documents, including employee personal information—such as home addresses, phone numbers, dates of birth, driver’s licenses, social security numbers, and credit card data—as well as financial records and internal confidential files. The group further claimed it would soon release these documents publicly.
Responding publicly, the ASF refutes the claims, stating it has no evidence that its systems have been compromised or that a breach has occurred. According to ASF representatives, the data types described by Akira do not exist within the Foundation’s infrastructure. Importantly, the ASF points out the open-source nature of the project: there are no paid employees associated with Apache OpenOffice or the Foundation, and therefore, sensitive employee information as specified by Akira is not held by ASF.
All development activities, bug tracking, and feature requests for the software are managed openly and transparently, primarily through public developer mailing lists. Thus, any internal reports or application issues cited in the alleged leak are already available in the public domain.
ASF further emphasized its strong commitment to security and clarified that, as of November 4, 2025, it had received no ransom demands directed at either the Foundation or the OpenOffice project. The Foundation has initiated an internal investigation to fully assess the veracity of Akira’s claims but, so far, has found no supporting evidence.
It has not contacted law enforcement or external cybersecurity experts, signaling that the incident is being treated as a claim without substantiation. As of the time of publication, none of the purported stolen data has surfaced on the Akira leak site, leaving ASF’s assertion unchallenged.
This dispute highlights the increasingly common tactic among ransomware operators of leveraging publicity and unsubstantiated claims to pressure organizations, even when the technical evidence does not support their assertions. For now, ASF continues to reassure users and contributors that Apache OpenOffice remains uncompromised, and stresses the transparency inherent in open-source development as a key defense against misinformation and data exfiltration claims.