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 16, 2026TFE Group listed by payloadon the group's public leak site

Sector and geography

This disclosure adds to ransomware activity in the Consumer Services sector, which has 396 disclosures indexed across all operators we track. Geographically, TFE Group is reported in AU, a country with 155 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

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TFE Group

Claimed by payload · listed 1 month ago

34d

Age

since listed · data leaked

Status timeline

Listed
Apr 16, 2026
Data leaked

At a glance

Group: payload
Status: Data leaked
Country: AU
Sector: Consumer Services
Listed on leak site: Apr 16, 2026

About the victim

AI dossier — public-source company profile

TFE Group is stated by the threat actor to operate in the Architecture, Engineering & Design industry in Australia. No public site content was available to further verify or elaborate on their services, scale, or locations. The company is listed under Consumer Services by the current sector classification, though the leak post characterises it differently.

Industry: Architecture, Engineering & Design

Attack summary

Severity: medium — Data has been marked as published, indicating some level of exfiltration has occurred, but the leak post contains no detail on data type, volume, or sensitivity, and no proof files or specific claims are described, preventing a higher severity classification.

The ransomware group 'payload' claims to have attacked TFE Group and has published data (disclosed status: data_published), though the leak post provides no specific detail on whether encryption, exfiltration, or both occurred, nor on the volume or nature of the data exposed.

medium

What the group claims

TFE Group is a company that operates in the Architecture, Engineering & Design 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

Sources

Leak posthttp://payloadrz5yw227brtbvdqpnlhq3rdcdekdnn3rgucbcdeawq2v6vuyd.onion/posts/555031f0-db54-4cc0-b7ed-c5b3c1d5f400

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.