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 22, 2023Westside listed by Royalon the group's public leak site

Sector and geography

This disclosure adds to ransomware activity in the Healthcare sector, which has 1,779 disclosures indexed across all operators we track. Geographically, Westside 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

Westside Community Services

listed as Westside · Claimed by Royal · listed 3 years ago

36m

Age

since listed · data leaked

Status timeline

Listed
May 22, 2023
Data leaked

At a glance

Group: Royal
Status: Data leaked
Country: United States
Sector: Healthcare
Listed on leak site: May 22, 2023

About the victim

AI dossier — public-source company profile

Westside Community Services is a nonprofit organization based in San Francisco, California, providing integrated mental health, substance use and recovery, HIV/AIDS case management, and community social services. The organization serves diverse populations including children, adolescents, adults, and African American communities through a range of outpatient, crisis, and home care programs. It operates multiple specialized programs including a Methadone Maintenance Program, Crisis Clinic, and community violence prevention initiatives.

Industry: Community Mental Health & Social Services
Address: 1153 Oak Street, San Francisco, CA 94117

Attack summary

Severity: critical — Westside Community Services handles highly sensitive regulated health data including mental health records, HIV/AIDS case management, and substance use treatment information — all categories protected under HIPAA. Data published status by a known ransomware group against a healthcare nonprofit serving vulnerable populations represents a critical breach of sensitive PII and protected health information at scale.

The Royal ransomware group has claimed an attack on Westside Community Services, with the disclosure status indicating data has been published. No specific details about encryption or exfiltration methods are captured in the leak post.

critical

Data the group says was taken

AI dossier — extracted from the leak post

Patient mental health records
HIV/AIDS case management records
Substance use treatment records
Personal identifying information (PII)
Employee records
Nonprofit financial statements

Sources

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.