Disclosure context

About Royal

Royal is a financially motivated ransomware group that emerged in November 2022, quickly establishing itself as a significant threat with over 200 documented victims across multiple sectors. The group is believed to operate independently rather than as a ransomware-as-a-service model, though their exact country of origin remains unclear based on publicly available intelligence. Royal primarily gains initial access through phishing campaigns and exploitation of remote desktop protocols, subsequently deploying custom ransomware that encrypts victim files while exfiltrating sensitive data for double extortion tactics. The group has demonstrated a preference for targeting critical infrastructure and public services, with notable attacks against educational institutions, healthcare facilities, and government entities primarily in the United States, though they have also significantly impacted organizations across Germany, the United Kingdom, Canada, and France. Their encryption methodology involves custom-built malware that systematically encrypts files while maintaining persistence on compromised networks. As of recent reporting from federal agencies including CISA and FBI advisories, Royal remains an active threat with ongoing campaigns targeting organizations across their preferred sectors, particularly focusing on entities with limited cybersecurity resources that may be more likely to pay ransom demands. The group has been linked to 211 public disclosures across our corpus. First observed on a leak site on November 4, 2022; most recent post July 19, 2023. The operation is currently inactive.

Timeline of this disclosure

May 26, 2023AFG Holdings listed by Royalon the group's public leak site

Data size: 319 GB

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, AFG Holdings is reported in United States, a country with 7,392 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.

Ransomware victim disclosure

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AFG Holdings

Claimed by Royal · listed 3 years ago

319 GB

Data size

36m

Age

since listed · data leaked

Status timeline

Listed
May 26, 2023
Data leaked

At a glance

Group: Royal
Status: Data leaked
Country: United States
Sector: Manufacturing
Listed on leak site: May 26, 2023
Data size: 319 GB

About the victim

AI dossier — public-source company profile

AFG Holdings, Inc. is a fully integrated OEM and technology/manufacturing specialist serving aerospace, oil and gas, petrochemical and refining, power generation, and general industrial markets worldwide. The company operates under the AFGlobal brand and offers precision-engineered products and services, including industrial flanges and connection/sealing technologies. It maintains market-leading positions across several of its business segments.

Industry: Aerospace & Industrial OEM Manufacturing

Attack summary

Severity: high — 319 GB of confirmed exfiltrated data from a multi-sector OEM serving aerospace, oil & gas, and power generation industries constitutes significant business and potentially sensitive technical/proprietary data exposure; data has been published, increasing severity.

The Royal ransomware group claims to have exfiltrated 319 GB of data from AFG Holdings, Inc., with the disclosure status indicating the data has been published. No ransom amount was stated.

high

Data the group says was taken

AI dossier — extracted from the leak post

Business operational data
Engineering and technical documents
OEM product and services data
Potentially aerospace and oil & gas sector files

What the group claims

AFG Holdings, Inc. is a fully integrated OEM providing differentiated technology, products, and services. The Company maintains a market-leading position in many of its businesses, including aerospace, general industrial, oil and gas, and power generation.Total downloaded data - 319gb

Sources

Victim siteafgholdings.com
Leak posthttp://royal4ezp7xrbakkus3oofjw6gszrohpodmdnfbe5e4w3og5sm7vb3qd.onion/9Pt5fYSM0ecufUVNld1oMtPu6Hv6KTKO

Source

Indexed 3 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.