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 23, 2023Dotcom Distribution listed by Royalon the group's public leak site

Data size: 40 GB

Sector and geography

This disclosure adds to ransomware activity in the Transportation & Logistics sector. Geographically, Dotcom Distribution 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

Dotcom Distribution

Claimed by Royal · listed 3 years ago

40 GB

Data size

36m

Age

since listed · data leaked

Status timeline

Listed
May 23, 2023
Data leaked

At a glance

Group: Royal
Status: Data leaked
Country: United States
Sector: Transportation & Logistics
Listed on leak site: May 23, 2023
Data size: 40 GB

About the victim

AI dossier — public-source company profile

Dotcom Distribution is a fulfillment and logistics services provider based in the United States, serving both emerging and established B2C and B2B eCommerce brands. The company offers warehousing, order fulfillment, and distribution services tailored to online retail clients. It operates as a third-party logistics (3PL) provider within the eCommerce supply chain sector.

Industry: Fulfillment & eCommerce Logistics
Employees: 201-500

Attack summary

Severity: high — 40 GB of confirmed exfiltrated data has been published by a known ransomware group. As a 3PL/fulfillment provider, Dotcom Distribution likely holds sensitive client business data, customer PII (shipping addresses, order details) for numerous eCommerce brands, and internal financial/operational records, representing significant business and potentially regulated data exposure at scale.

The Royal ransomware group claims to have exfiltrated approximately 40 GB of data from Dotcom Distribution, with the disclosed status indicating the data has been published. No ransom amount was stated in the post.

high

Data the group says was taken

AI dossier — extracted from the leak post

Business operational data
Client/brand partner records
eCommerce order and fulfillment data
Potentially employee PII
Potentially financial records

What the group claims

Dotcom Distribution is a fulfillment and logistics services provider for emerging and established B2C and B2B eCommerce brands.Total downloaded data - 40gb

Sources

Victim sitedotcomdist.com
Leak posthttp://royal4ezp7xrbakkus3oofjw6gszrohpodmdnfbe5e4w3og5sm7vb3qd.onion/mQbMDSUhD1cpnthUaO9UZGin3QLa4aby

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.