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 5, 2023Meade Tractor listed by Royalon the group's public leak site

Sector and geography

This disclosure adds to ransomware activity in the Automotive sector, which has 11 disclosures indexed across all operators we track. Geographically, Meade Tractor 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

← All victims

Meade Tractor

Claimed by Royal · listed 3 years ago

37m

Age

since listed · data leaked

Status timeline

Listed
May 5, 2023
Data leaked

At a glance

Group: Royal
Status: Data leaked
Country: United States
Sector: Automotive
Listed on leak site: May 5, 2023

About the victim

AI dossier — public-source company profile

Meade Tractor is a multi-location John Deere equipment dealership based in the United States, offering new and used tractors, zero-turn mowers, compact construction equipment, Gator utility vehicles, and STIHL outdoor power tools. The company also provides parts, financing, and expert service support. It operates across several locations and serves both residential property owners and commercial/agricultural customers.

Industry: Agricultural & Construction Equipment Dealership
Employees: 51-200

Attack summary

Severity: high — Data has been marked as published by a known ransomware operator (Royal), indicating confirmed exfiltration and public release of company data. While the exact data categories are unconfirmed due to missing leak post content, a multi-location dealership would hold significant customer PII, financial records, and employee data, warranting a high severity rating.

The Royal ransomware group claims to have attacked Meade Tractor and has published data (disclosed status: data_published); however, no leak post text was captured, so the specific methods (encryption, exfiltration, or both) and the precise nature of the data at stake cannot be confirmed from available information.

high

Data the group says was taken

AI dossier — extracted from the leak post

Customer records
Financial data
Employee information
Business operational data

Sources

Victim sitemeadetractor.com
Leak posthttp://royal4ezp7xrbakkus3oofjw6gszrohpodmdnfbe5e4w3og5sm7vb3qd.onion/wCQtNmpeb0al2JUu5AicCJ08wLck6NtV

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.