Disclosure context

About Blackbyte

BlackByte is a ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) operation that emerged in October 2021, primarily motivated by financial gain through double extortion tactics targeting organizations across multiple sectors. The group is suspected to operate from Russia or former Soviet states based on their use of Russian-language forums and avoidance of targeting organizations in Commonwealth of Independent States countries, though they maintain no confirmed links to other established ransomware families. BlackByte operators typically gain initial access through vulnerable Microsoft Exchange servers, phishing campaigns, and exploitation of remote desktop protocol (RDP) services, employing tools such as Cobalt Strike for lateral movement and data exfiltration before deploying their custom ransomware payload that uses AES-256 encryption with RSA-2048 key protection. The group has demonstrated particular focus on critical infrastructure sectors, with the FBI and CISA issuing joint advisories in February 2022 highlighting attacks against organizations in government, healthcare, manufacturing, and education sectors, including notable incidents affecting San Francisco's transportation authority and multiple healthcare systems across the United States. BlackByte remains active as of 2024, continuing to evolve their tactics and maintain their leak site for publishing stolen data from victims who refuse to pay ransoms. The group has been linked to 147 public disclosures across our corpus. First observed on a leak site on October 4, 2021; most recent post July 30, 2025. The operation is currently inactive.

Timeline of this disclosure

September 18, 2023Hoteles Xcaret listed by Blackbyteon the group's public leak site

Sector and geography

This disclosure adds to ransomware activity in the Hospitality sector. Geographically, Hoteles Xcaret is reported in Mexico, a country with 92 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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Hoteles Xcaret

Claimed by Blackbyte · listed 3 years ago

32m

Age

since listed · data leaked

Status timeline

Listed
Sep 18, 2023
Data leaked

At a glance

Group: Blackbyte
Status: Data leaked
Country: Mexico
Sector: Hospitality
Listed on leak site: Sep 18, 2023

About the victim

AI dossier — public-source company profile

Hoteles Xcaret is a Mexican hospitality company operating resort hotels in the Riviera Maya region of Quintana Roo, Mexico. The company caters to a range of travelers including families, couples, and experience-focused guests, positioning itself around nature-based and sustainable tourism. It is part of the broader Grupo Xcaret brand known for eco-archaeological parks and tourism experiences in the Yucatán Peninsula.

Industry: Hospitality & Resort Hotels
Address: Riviera Maya, Quintana Roo, Mexico

Attack summary

Severity: high — Data has been published by the group (disclosed status: data_published), confirming exfiltration rather than a mere listing. A hospitality operator of this scale is likely to hold significant volumes of guest PII, payment-related data, and employee records, warranting a high severity rating. Insufficient detail to confirm regulated data at scale for a critical classification.

BlackByte claims to have attacked Hoteles Xcaret and has reached the data_published stage of disclosure, indicating that exfiltrated data has been or is being released. The leak post does not specify the volume of data or enumerate specific data categories, but the published status implies exfiltration occurred.

high

Data the group says was taken

AI dossier — extracted from the leak post

Guest personal information
Reservation records
Employee data
Financial records
Internal business documents

What the group claims

Hoteles Xcaret offers the best lodging experiences in Riviera Maya. Our hotels have been designed to satisfy and exceed the demands of different kinds of travelers, from parents wishing to surprise their kids with the best family vacations, to private and sustainable experiences collectors who wish for an incredible journey as a couple.

Sources

Victim sitexcaret.com

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.