Disclosure context

About Play

**Overview:** Play (also known as PlayCrypt) is a financially motivated ransomware group that emerged in late 2022, conducting targeted attacks against organizations across multiple sectors with a focus on financial extortion. **Origin & Affiliation:** The group's country of origin remains unclear based on public reporting, though they appear to operate independently rather than as a traditional ransomware-as-a-service model. **Attack Methodology:** Play ransomware operators typically gain initial access through compromised Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) credentials and exploit valid accounts, then move laterally through networks using tools like Cobalt Strike before deploying their custom ransomware payload. The group employs double extortion tactics, stealing sensitive data before encryption and threatening to publish it on their leak site if ransom demands are not met. **Notable Campaigns:** According to CISA advisories, Play has targeted over 300 entities globally since its emergence, with significant impacts on critical infrastructure sectors including healthcare, education, and government services, though specific ransom amounts and individual victim details vary in public reporting. **Current Status:** Play remains an active threat as of 2024, continuing to target organizations primarily in North America and Europe according to ongoing security researcher observations and law enforcement warnings. The group has been linked to 1,276 public disclosures across our corpus. First observed on a leak site on November 26, 2022; most recent post May 20, 2026. The operation is currently active.

Also tracked as: PlayCrypt.

Timeline of this disclosure

May 20, 2026Zuther Hautmann listed by Playon the group's public leak site

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

Zuther Hautmann

Claimed by Play · listed 1 day ago

Age

since listed · listed for ransom

Status timeline

Listed
May 20, 2026

Current state: Listed for ransom

At a glance

Group: Play
Status: Listed for ransom
Listed on leak site: May 20, 2026

About the victim

AI dossier — public-source company profile

Zuther Hautmann appears to be a company targeted by the Play ransomware group. No public website or additional identifying information was available to determine the nature of their business, location, or scale of operations.

Attack summary

Severity: medium — Play ransomware is a known double-extortion group that typically both encrypts and exfiltrates data. The listing with a scheduled publication date implies data is held and will be released, but no specific data types, volume, or proof files have been disclosed yet, warranting a medium rating pending further disclosure.

The Play ransomware group has listed Zuther Hautmann as a victim with a publication date of 2026-05-24, indicating an impending or active data disclosure. No details on encryption, exfiltration, or specific data types were provided in the post.

medium

The leak post

captured from the group's site

| Play ransomware HAS NEVER PROVIDED AND DOES NOT PROVIDE THE RaaS, read the FAQ page.WE NEVER WRITES FIRST, IF SOMEONE WRITES TO YOU, THEY ARE SCAMMERS.If we have not responded to you by email within 12 hours, please leave your contact information on the website in the contact tab.  |  
| --- |  
| Zuther Hautmann👁️ views: 203added: 2026-05-19publication date: 2026-05-24   | DURAND-WAYLAND👁️ views: 1292   | Ashcroft Homes👁️ views: 1328   |  
| IWC Food Service👁️ views: 1319   | ACC Construction👁️ views: 1314   | Northern Mechanical Contractors👁️ views: 1344   |  
| Town Car International👁️ views: 1308   | Infoworld Membership Systems👁️ views: 1350   | EMA Engineering & Consulting👁️ views: 1389   |  
| Accessoires Outillage Ltee👁️ views: 1319   | K & E Distributing👁️ views: 1322   | Sokolin👁️ views: 8253   |

Sources

Leak posthttp://ipi4tiumgzjsym6pyuzrfqrtwskokxokqannmd6sa24shvr7x5kxdvqd.onion

Source

Indexed 1 day 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.