Pay2Key is a relatively obscure ransomware group that emerged in December 2020 with a focused targeting approach primarily against Israeli organizations, suggesting potential geopolitical motivations alongside financial gain. The group's origin and affiliations remain largely undocumented by major security firms, though their concentrated focus on Israeli entities across information technology, telecommunications, and legal sectors indicates possible nation-state backing or politically motivated cybercriminal activity rather than operating as a traditional ransomware-as-a-service model. Limited public documentation exists regarding their specific attack methodologies, initial access vectors, or technical capabilities, though their successful compromise of at least seven documented victims across critical infrastructure and professional services sectors demonstrates operational competency. The group's notable campaigns have primarily involved targeting Israeli organizations, with security researchers noting their emergence during a period of heightened regional tensions, though specific details about ransom demands, victim names, or law enforcement responses remain largely unpublished in major threat intelligence reports. Current intelligence suggests Pay2Key has maintained a low profile with minimal public reporting on recent activities, making their operational status uncertain as of recent assessments. The group has been linked to 7 public disclosures across our corpus. First observed on a leak site on December 13, 2020; most recent post September 9, 2021. The operation is currently inactive.
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.
