benzona is a ransomware operator currently active on public leak sites. Darkfield has indexed 14 public victims claimed by this operator between November 26, 2025 and January 30, 2026. Benzona is an emerging ransomware group that was first observed in November 2025, operating with apparent financial motivations based on their targeting patterns across multiple sectors and geographic regions. The group has conducted at least 14 documented attacks within a short timeframe since their emergence, suggesting an active operational tempo. Given the limited public documentation available from major threat intelligence sources, specific details regarding the group's country of origin, potential affiliations, or operational model remain unclear, though their diverse geographic targeting spanning Romania, India, Côte d'Ivoire, Taiwan, and France suggests either a broad operational scope or potential ransomware-as-a-service model. The group's attack methodology and technical capabilities have not been extensively documented in public threat intelligence reporting, though their targeting of healthcare, manufacturing, hospitality and tourism, and technology sectors indicates they may be opportunistic in their victim selection rather than following highly specialized targeting criteria. No major high-profile campaigns or significant law enforcement actions against Benzona have been publicly reported by CISA, FBI, or major security firms, likely due to the group's recent emergence and relatively limited scale of operations compared to established ransomware families. Given the group's recent first observation date of November 2025, Benzona appears to remain active, though comprehensive threat intelligence profiles from established security researchers have not yet been published due to the group's nascent operational history.
How we know this. Operator profiles on Darkfield are built from continuous monitoring of every leak site the group is known to operate, cross-correlated with community-curated feeds (RansomLook, ransomware.live, RansomWatch, MISP-galaxy). Status flips from active to inactive when no new disclosure appears for 60 days. MITRE ATT&CK mappings shown in the interactive section below are sourced from CISA, vendor analysis, and the MITRE community catalog — we attribute each technique back to its source. Aliases reflect operator re-brands and affiliate splits.