Disclosure context

About Royal

Royal is a financially motivated ransomware group that emerged in November 2022, quickly establishing itself as a significant threat with over 200 documented victims across multiple sectors. The group is believed to operate independently rather than as a ransomware-as-a-service model, though their exact country of origin remains unclear based on publicly available intelligence. Royal primarily gains initial access through phishing campaigns and exploitation of remote desktop protocols, subsequently deploying custom ransomware that encrypts victim files while exfiltrating sensitive data for double extortion tactics. The group has demonstrated a preference for targeting critical infrastructure and public services, with notable attacks against educational institutions, healthcare facilities, and government entities primarily in the United States, though they have also significantly impacted organizations across Germany, the United Kingdom, Canada, and France. Their encryption methodology involves custom-built malware that systematically encrypts files while maintaining persistence on compromised networks. As of recent reporting from federal agencies including CISA and FBI advisories, Royal remains an active threat with ongoing campaigns targeting organizations across their preferred sectors, particularly focusing on entities with limited cybersecurity resources that may be more likely to pay ransom demands. The group has been linked to 211 public disclosures across our corpus. First observed on a leak site on November 4, 2022; most recent post July 19, 2023. The operation is currently inactive.

Timeline of this disclosure

May 26, 2023Colrich listed by Royalon the group's public leak site

Data size: 560 GB

Sector and geography

This disclosure adds to ransomware activity in the Construction sector, which has 415 disclosures indexed across all operators we track. Geographically, Colrich is reported in South Africa, a country with 11 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

Colrich

Claimed by Royal · listed 3 years ago

560 GB

Data size

36m

Age

since listed · data leaked

Status timeline

Listed
May 26, 2023
Data leaked

At a glance

Group: Royal
Status: Data leaked
Country: South Africa
Sector: Construction
Listed on leak site: May 26, 2023
Data size: 560 GB

About the victim

AI dossier — public-source company profile

ColRich is a vertically integrated real estate, construction, and investment firm headquartered in San Diego, California, focused on value-add residential real estate across the Western and South Central United States. The company develops and renovates multifamily rental and for-sale residential properties, including single-family homes, townhomes, apartments, and mid-rise condominiums. Founded in 1977 by South African émigrés, it is currently family-owned and led by CEO Danny Gabriel, with two master-planned communities totalling 5,000+ homes in the pipeline.

Industry: Residential Real Estate Development & Construction
Address: 2100 Kettner Blvd, Suite #550, San Diego, CA 92101
Founded: 1977

Attack summary

Severity: high — 560 GB of confirmed exfiltrated data has been published from a real estate and investment firm, likely containing significant business-sensitive information including investor data, financial records, and potentially employee PII; the 'data_published' status confirms actual exposure rather than mere listing.

The Royal ransomware group claims to have exfiltrated 560 GB of data from ColRich and has published the data. No ransom amount was stated.

high

Data the group says was taken

AI dossier — extracted from the leak post

Corporate financial records
Real estate development documents
Construction project files
Investor relations data
Employee/HR records
Internal business communications

What the group claims

From South Africa to Southern California, the ColRich story is a decades-long journey of growth, continuous reinvention and a culture of caring.Through generations of family ownership, the ColRich brand has evolved, but the company’s foundation remains the same today as in the beginning – build lasting communities through a culture centered around innovation, humility, perseverance, and a commitment to helping others.In 1977, business colleagues and friends Richard Gabriel, Barry Galgut and Colin Seid moved from Johannesburg to San Diego, leaving the unrest of apartheid-era South Africa for a more stable environment to raise their families. The trio quickly formed a San Diego-based partnership to pursue development and investment opportunities in Southern California. The business achieved notable success over more than two decades – largely due to continual reinvention and the team’s ability to leverage the peaks and troughs of the cyclical real estate industry.Gabriel’s sons, Graeme and Danny, took the helm in 2003 to build the next iteration of ColRich, creating a diverse residential platform that leverages a unique homebuilding background, renovation expertise, sophisticated in-house construction and design teams brought together in private capital partnerships. Today, ColRich is recognized as an industry leader for integrating design and value into both for-sale and multifamily rental properties.Total downloaded data - 560gb

Sources

Victim sitecolrich.com
Leak posthttp://royal4ezp7xrbakkus3oofjw6gszrohpodmdnfbe5e4w3og5sm7vb3qd.onion/PdXik6FhBsW62o0A7anazKWxKGZ9PnzU

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.