Machelen (Belgium)
rhysida listed this organization on its leak site on Oct 27, 2026.
- Listing date
- Oct 27, 2026
- Attack date
- Sep 11, 2026
Listing text
Machelen (Belgium) Machelen (Belgium) - municipal and social welfare (OCMW) file servers1.3 million files, ~2.9 TB. Working copy + backup copy (lawer2/lawer3). Language: Dutch, partly French.Contents:Social welfare and migration service client files: passports, ID cards, residence permits, sick notes.WZC nursing home: medical files, staff HR dossiers, workplace accidents.Civil status records (births, marriages) with national register numbers (NISS/RRN).Payslips, financial data.Correspondence (~23k messages), employee home folders.Databases and backups: full OCMW database backup (6 GB, 09/2026), 645 .mdb databases, 12,873 .dbf, 110 .bak (17 GB).Verified: 13,319 files with personal data. Among them - a valid Belgian ID card (expiry 02/2029), Belgian and Moroccan passports, national register numbers (RRN), sick notes with patient addresses, medical documents (GDPR Art. 9 special categories). More
In the press
Le gouvernement local de Machelen est confronté à un incident de cybersécurité qui a paralysé ses systèmes numériques depuis le vendredi 11 septembre 2026. L'attaque, qui semble être survenue via du 'phishing', a forcé la fermeture des guichets municipaux. Les autorités enquêtent pour déterminer l'étendue des dégâts et s'assurer qu'aucune donnée personnelle n'a été divulguée. Bien que les services numériques de base (site web, e-loket) restent accessibles via d'autres systèmes, la communication par e-mail est interrompue.
About the group
rhysida posted its first listing on Jun 5, 2023 and has listed 338 organizations to date.
Rhysida is a ransomware-as-a-service (RAAS) group that emerged in May 2023. The group utilizes a namesake ransomware through phishing attacks and Cobalt Strike to breach the targets' networks and deploy their payloads. The group threatens to publicly distribute exfiltrated data if the ransom is not paid, and it's worth mentioning that Rhysida is still in the early stages of development. The ransomware leaves PDF notes in the affected folders, instructing victims to contact the group through its portal, and payment is made via Bitcoin. After encryption, the ransomware appends the extension '.ryshida' to encrypted files.
Learning center
What does this listing mean?
Ransomware groups move data out of the organization before encrypting systems and threaten to publish it if the ransom is not paid. This method is called double extortion.
The listing shows that the group claims to have targeted the organization. Whether the data was published is shown by the later status of the listing.
What should you do if your organization is listed on a leak site?
- Record the listing and any published sample files; do not visit the leak site from the corporate network.
- Isolate affected systems and preserve logs without deleting them.
- Determine which data left the organization; if personal data is involved, review notification obligations with your legal team.
- Make any decision about the ransom demand together with legal, management and incident response.
- Do not bring systems back online before the attacker’s entry point is closed.
Is your organization mentioned?
Search with your domain to check whether your organization appears in ransomware listings, leaked records, forums and Telegram channels.
Search your domainIntelligence 360
Customer intelligence on top of Infostealer Detection: leaked accounts of end users who sign in to your site.