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 8, 2026El Wastani Petroleum Company (WASCO) listed by payloadon the group's public leak site

Sector and geography

This disclosure adds to ransomware activity in the Energy sector, which has 374 disclosures indexed across all operators we track. Geographically, El Wastani Petroleum Company (WASCO) is reported in LY.

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

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El Wastani Petroleum Company (WASCO)

Claimed by payload · listed 1 month ago

43d

Age

since listed · data leaked

Status timeline

Listed
Apr 8, 2026
Data leaked

At a glance

Group: payload
Status: Data leaked
Country: LY
Sector: Energy
Listed on leak site: Apr 8, 2026

About the victim

AI dossier — public-source company profile

El Wastani Petroleum Company (WASCO) is an Egyptian oil and gas company focused on the exploration, production, and processing of natural gas and condensate. It operates fields and infrastructure including processing facilities and compression stations, primarily in the Nile Delta and North Sinai regions. The company serves as a regional operator supporting the development of Egypt's gas industry.

Industry: Oil & Gas Exploration and Production

Attack summary

Severity: high — The victim is an oil and gas operator in a critical energy infrastructure sector; data has been confirmed published by the threat actor. Compromise of an energy company with published data represents significant operational and geopolitical risk, even absent explicit enumeration of regulated PII at scale.

The ransomware group 'payload' claims to have compromised El Wastani Petroleum Company (WASCO) and has published data, as indicated by the 'data_published' disclosure status. The specific nature of exfiltrated data and whether encryption occurred is not detailed in the available post text.

high

Data the group says was taken

AI dossier — extracted from the leak post

Operational data (field/infrastructure records)
Corporate documents
Potentially employee and business records

What the group claims

El Wastani Petroleum Company (WASCO) is an Egyptian oil and gas company focused on the exploration, production, and processing of natural gas and condensate. It operates fields and infrastructure, including processing facilities and compression stations, mainly in the Nile Delta and North Sinai regions. The company serves as a regional operator, supporting the development of Egypt’s gas industry.

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…

Screenshot of the leak post

Leak screenshot for El Wastani Petroleum Company (WASCO)

Sources

Leak posthttp://payloadrz5yw227brtbvdqpnlhq3rdcdekdnn3rgucbcdeawq2v6vuyd.onion/posts/29732084-774a-4667-9dcd-b2ebfb6a748a

Source

Indexed 1 month 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.