Disclosure context

About payload

Based on the limited publicly available information, Payload is an emerging ransomware group first observed in February 2026 with a primarily financial motivation, having targeted 19 documented victims across multiple countries and sectors. The group's origin and affiliations remain unclear, with no documented evidence of their operational structure, country of origin, or whether they operate as a Ransomware-as-a-Service model or independent entity. Their attack methodology, encryption techniques, and specific tools used have not been publicly documented by major cybersecurity firms or law enforcement agencies. The group has demonstrated a diverse targeting approach, focusing primarily on victims in the Philippines, United States, United Kingdom, Mexico, and Dominican Republic, with particular emphasis on manufacturing, agriculture and food production, transportation/logistics, and telecommunication sectors, though the specific campaigns and ransom demands remain undisclosed in public threat intelligence reports. Given the group's recent emergence and limited public documentation, Payload appears to be currently active but remains a relatively obscure threat actor with insufficient publicly available data to establish comprehensive intelligence assessments from major cybersecurity organizations or law enforcement agencies. The group has been linked to 46 public disclosures across our corpus. First observed on a leak site on February 17, 2026; most recent post May 19, 2026. The operation is currently active.

Timeline of this disclosure

April 23, 2026b3-bruck.at listed by payloadon the group's public leak site

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, b3-bruck.at is reported in AT, a country with 5 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

← All victims

Bundeshandelsakademie, Bundeshandelsschule und Bundesbildungsanstalt für Elementarpädagogik Bruck an der Mur

listed as b3-bruck.at · Claimed by payload · listed 27 days ago

27d

Age

since listed · data leaked

Status timeline

Listed
Apr 23, 2026
Data leaked

At a glance

Group: payload
Status: Data leaked
Country: AT
Sector: Manufacturing
Listed on leak site: Apr 23, 2026

About the victim

AI dossier — public-source company profile

B3-Bruck (b3-bruck.at) is an Austrian federal public school located in Bruck an der Mur, Styria. It operates three schools under one roof: a Bundeshandelsakademie (HAK, commercial upper-secondary school), a Bundeshandelsschule (HAS, commercial middle school), and a Bundesbildungsanstalt für Elementarpädagogik (BAfEP, teacher-training college for early-childhood education). The institution serves several hundred students across multiple educational tracks and programmes.

Industry: Secondary & Vocational Education
Address: Brückengasse 2, 8600 Bruck an der Mur, Austria

Attack summary

Severity: high — Data has been published (disclosed status: data_published) for a public educational institution, which likely holds regulated personal data on minors (students), staff PII, and administrative records, constituting a significant breach of sensitive data under GDPR.

The ransomware group 'payload' claims to have attacked b3-bruck.at and has published data. The group's leak post misidentifies the victim as an IT-services/hosting company; the actual target is an Austrian public educational institution.

high

Data the group says was taken

AI dossier — extracted from the leak post

Student records
Staff/administrative records
School administration documents
Email communications
Internal IT system data

What the group claims

B3-Bruck is an Austrian company specializing in IT services and network solutions. They provide hosting, virtual servers, and colocation, along with network management and security services. The company also offers IT consulting and infrastructure support for corporate clients.

The leak post

captured from the group's site

[ Inteceng.com.my (+ Tsksynergy.com.my + Amemanufacturing.com.my + Woodnova.com.my)  
```
These websites represent a synergistic group of Malaysian companies, such as AME Elite and TSK Synergy, specializing in integrated industrial construction and engineering solutions. They provide end-to-end services, including the design and fabrication of steel structures, mechanical engineering, and the development of large-scale industrial parks. Together, they leverage their combined expertise to deliver "turnkey" manufacturing facilities and infrastructure projects across the region.
```
](http://payloadrz5yw227brtbvdqpnlhq3rdcdekdnn3rgucbcdeawq2v6vuyd.onion/posts/61827d93-eb95-42af-b264-9b84aeecefb7) [ 
```
Gorey Community School is a co-educational, multi-denominational institution located in Gorey, Co. Wexford, under the joint patronage of the Loreto Sisters and Waterford and Wexford ETB
```
](http://payloadrz5yw227brtbvdqpnlhq3rdcdekdnn3rgucbcdeawq2v6vuyd.onion/posts/c9049f7c-de08-4099-a2f7-d8ae8e421682) [ PROM (Peakside Ros Outlet Management)  
```
PROM (Peakside Ros Outlet Management) is a joint venture established by the investment firm Peakside Capital and the operator Ros Retail t…

Sources

Source

Indexed 27 days 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.