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

May 13, 2026Gorey Community School listed by payloadon the group's public leak site

Sector and geography

This disclosure adds to ransomware activity in the Education sector, which has 694 disclosures indexed across all operators we track. Geographically, Gorey Community School is reported in IE, a country with 5 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

Gorey Community School

Claimed by payload · listed 8 days ago

Age

since listed · data leaked

Status timeline

Listed
May 13, 2026
Data leaked

At a glance

Group: payload
Status: Data leaked
Country: IE
Sector: Education
Listed on leak site: May 13, 2026

About the victim

AI dossier — public-source company profile

Gorey Community School is a co-educational, multi-denominational secondary school located in Gorey, Co. Wexford, Ireland. It operates under the joint patronage of the Loreto Sisters and Waterford and Wexford ETB. The school provides junior and senior cycle education and fosters a community-oriented learning environment.

Industry: Secondary Education
Address: Esmonde St, Gorey, Co. Wexford, Y25 W535, Ireland

Attack summary

Severity: high — The victim is a secondary school whose systems likely contain minors' PII (student records, health and wellbeing data, parent contact details), which constitutes sensitive regulated data. The disclosed status is 'data_published', indicating confirmed exfiltration and public release of data.

The ransomware group 'payload' claims to have attacked Gorey Community School and has published data as disclosed. No ransom amount or specific data volume was stated in the post.

high

Data the group says was taken

AI dossier — extracted from the leak post

Student records
Staff records
Parent communications
Administrative documents
School policies and documents

What the group claims

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

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 Gorey Community School

Sources

Source

Indexed 8 days 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.