Disclosure context

About dragonforce

Dragonforce is a relatively new ransomware group that emerged in December 2023, operating with apparent financial motivations based on their targeting patterns and victim selection. The group's origin and potential affiliations remain unclear due to limited public documentation from established threat intelligence sources, though their rapid accumulation of 439 documented victims suggests either sophisticated capabilities or possible connections to existing ransomware infrastructure. Based on their targeting patterns across diverse sectors including manufacturing, business services, technology, and construction, Dragonforce appears to employ opportunistic attack methodologies, though specific initial access vectors, encryption methods, and extortion tactics have not been publicly detailed by major security firms or law enforcement agencies. The group has demonstrated a preference for targeting organizations primarily in English-speaking countries and Western Europe, with the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Australia, and Italy representing their most frequent victim locations, suggesting possible language capabilities or geographic operational preferences. As of current reporting, Dragonforce appears to remain active given their recent emergence and ongoing victim acquisition, though the lack of detailed public analysis from major threat intelligence organizations indicates either operational security measures that have limited researcher visibility or that the group has not yet conducted sufficiently high-profile attacks to warrant extensive public documentation by CISA, FBI, or established security research firms. The group has been linked to 537 public disclosures across our corpus. First observed on a leak site on December 13, 2023; most recent post May 20, 2026. The operation is currently active.

Timeline of this disclosure

May 4, 2026Cult Wines listed by dragonforceon the group's public leak site

Sector and geography

This disclosure adds to ransomware activity in the Hospitality and Tourism sector, which has 159 disclosures indexed across all operators we track. Geographically, Cult Wines is reported in GB, a country with 309 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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Cult Wines

Claimed by dragonforce · listed 17 days ago

16d

Age

since listed · data leaked

Status timeline

Listed
May 4, 2026
Data leaked

At a glance

Group: dragonforce
Status: Data leaked
Country: GB
Sector: Hospitality and Tourism
Listed on leak site: May 4, 2026

About the victim

AI dossier — public-source company profile

Cult Wines is a UK-based company transforming the fine wine industry by combining expertise, digital platforms, and innovative technology to support buying, selling, investing, and collecting fine wines. Through its Cult Wine Investment arm, it offers fine wine as an alternative asset class, serving collectors, investors, and wine enthusiasts globally. The company operates internationally with a presence in markets including the UK, US, Canada, Singapore, and Hong Kong.

Industry: Fine Wine Investment & Trading

Attack summary

Severity: high — Data has been published (confirmed exfiltration) by the group. Given Cult Wines handles fine wine investment portfolios and client financial data, the exfiltration likely involves significant financial and personal data of investors and collectors at scale, warranting a high severity rating.

DragonForce claims to have exfiltrated approximately 308 GB of data from Cult Wines, with the disclosure status listed as data_published, indicating stolen data has been released or made available. The group's post describes the company's operations but does not specify the exact nature of all stolen files beyond the implied exfiltration.

high

Data the group says was taken

AI dossier — extracted from the leak post

Client investment records
Financial documents
Corporate correspondence
Customer personal data
Transaction and portfolio data

What the group claims

Cult Wines is revolutionizing the fine wine industry by leveraging expertise, digital platforms, and innovative technology to enhance the buying, selling, investing, and collecting experience for producers and consumers. Their services support the entire life cycle of fine wine, ensuring transparency and secure transactions. Recognizing fine wine as a unique investment, Cult Wine Investment provides clients with a wealth of possibilities, combining heritage with cutting-edge technology to enrich portfolios and enhance lives. Targeting both new generations of wine drinkers and seasoned collectors, Cult Wines aims to build a global community around fine wine appreciation.

The leak post

captured from the group's site

```
{"data":{"count":483,"publications":[{"uuid":"b008b8b7-0e47-416f-adcd-2313d8136de4","created_at":"2026-05-08T20:56:13.122134Z","name":"CF Evans Construction","website":"www.cfevans.com","address":"125 Regional Pkwy Ste 200, Orangeburg, South Carolina, 29118, United States","description":"A recognized leader in the multi-family housing construction industry, CF Evans Construction provides a product for developers. The company has thrived amid six decades.\nThe data of this company includes:\n    Corporate correspondence of senior executives\n    Financial documents\n    HR documents\n    Accounting documents\n    Certificates, contracts, passwords, databases, and much more.","weight":4775795351552,"is_timer_publication_stopped":false,"timer_publication":"2026-05-22T07:48:00Z","try_again":false,"tags":[],"logo_uuid":"f4e582dd-6562-4590-bac8-2b9e5c564853","is_transfering":false},{"uuid":"3827192f-9bb3-490c-9c1c-d28b382510cd","created_at":"2026-05-08T17:53:24.736605Z","name":"CMC Expertise Comptable","website":"cmcexpertise.fr","address":"32 Rue De La Clairière, Fort-de-France,","description":"CMC Expertise Comptable is a certified accounting firm located in Martinique, dedicated t…

Sources

Source

Indexed 17 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.