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 3, 2026Tscherne Consulting Steuerberatung GmbH listed by payloadon the group's public leak site

Sector and geography

This disclosure adds to ransomware activity in the Financial Services sector, which has 516 disclosures indexed across all operators we track. Geographically, Tscherne Consulting Steuerberatung GmbH is reported in AT, 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

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Tscherne Consulting Steuerberatung GmbH

Claimed by payload · listed 2 months ago

48d

Age

since listed · data leaked

Status timeline

Listed
Apr 3, 2026
Data leaked

At a glance

Group: payload
Status: Data leaked
Country: AT
Sector: Financial Services
Listed on leak site: Apr 3, 2026

About the victim

AI dossier — public-source company profile

Tscherne Consulting Steuerberatung GmbH is an Austrian tax consulting firm based in Graz. The company specialises in services for small and medium-sized businesses, offering bookkeeping, tax planning, payroll processing, and business consulting.

Industry: Tax Consulting & Accounting Services
Address: Graz, Austria

Attack summary

Severity: high — A tax consulting firm handling SME financial records, payroll, and tax planning data almost certainly holds regulated financial PII for multiple clients; data_published status means exfiltration is confirmed rather than merely claimed.

The 'payload' ransomware group claims to have published data belonging to Tscherne Consulting Steuerberatung GmbH, with disclosed status indicating data has been published; the post does not specify encryption or detail the volume of exfiltrated data beyond the firm's existence on the leak site.

high

Data the group says was taken

AI dossier — extracted from the leak post

Client tax records
Payroll data
Business financial records
Bookkeeping files
Business consulting documents

What the group claims

Tscherne Consulting Steuerberatung GmbH is an Austrian tax consulting firm based in Graz. The company specializes in services for small and medium-sized businesses, including bookkeeping, tax planning, payroll processing, and business consulting.

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 Tscherne Consulting Steuerberatung GmbH

Sources

Leak posthttp://payloadrz5yw227brtbvdqpnlhq3rdcdekdnn3rgucbcdeawq2v6vuyd.onion/posts/f09e43ac-79b7-4cf1-bcd8-93d6f27b6436

Source

Indexed 2 months 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.