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Cyber Threat
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Ransomware victim Government & Defense

City of Columbia, SC

Listed by Qilin on · organisation based in United States

www.columbiasc.gov

Disclosed
Oct 29, 2026
Leak-site listing date
Threat group
Qilin
2,521 victims listed
Country
United States
#1 most targeted
Sector
Government & Defense

ThreatAI analysis

Compiled from this incident record and the threat intelligence profile for Qilin. Figures and technique mappings are quoted from the source data, not inferred.

About the Qilin group

Qilin ransomware was first observed in July of 2022. Qilin Ransomware is written in Golang and supports multiple encryption modes; all of which are controlled by the operator. Qilin actors practice double extortion – demanding payment for a decryptor, as well as for the non-release of stolen data. Qilin has listed 2,344 victims since October 2022.

How Qilin is documented to operate

Valid Accounts T1078 Stealth Persistence

Adversaries may obtain and abuse credentials of existing accounts as a means of gaining Initial Access, Persistence, Privilege Escalation, or Defense Evasion. Compromised credentials may be used to bypass access controls placed on various resources on systems within the network and may even be used for persistent access to remote systems and externally available services, such as VPNs, Outlook Web Access, network devices, and remote desktop. Compromised credentials may also grant an adversary increased privilege to specific systems or access to restricted areas of the network.

Mitigations: Application Developer Guidance, User Training, Password Policies, User Account Management, Privileged Account Management, Multi-factor Authentication

MITRE ATT&CK reference
Exploit Public-Facing Application T1190 Initial Access

Adversaries may attempt to exploit a weakness in an Internet-facing host or system to initially access a network. The weakness in the system can be a software bug, a temporary glitch, or a misconfiguration. Exploited applications are often websites/web servers, but can also include databases (like SQL), standard services (like SMB or SSH), network device administration and management protocols (like SNMP and Smart Install), and any other system with Internet-accessible open sockets. On ESXi infrastructure, adversaries may exploit exposed OpenSLP services; they may alternatively exploit exposed VMware vCenter servers.

Mitigations: Vulnerability Scanning, Limit Access to Resource Over Network, Filter Network Traffic, Network Segmentation, Privileged Account Management, Application Isolation and Sandboxing

MITRE ATT&CK reference
Phishing T1566 Initial Access

Adversaries may send phishing messages to gain access to victim systems. All forms of phishing are electronically delivered social engineering. Phishing can be targeted, known as spearphishing. In spearphishing, a specific individual, company, or industry will be targeted by the adversary. More generally, adversaries can conduct non-targeted phishing, such as in mass malware spam campaigns. Adversaries may send victims emails containing malicious attachments or links, typically to execute malicious code on victim systems. Phishing may also be conducted via third-party services, like social media platforms.

Mitigations: Network Intrusion Prevention, Restrict Web-Based Content, User Training, Antivirus/Antimalware, Software Configuration, Audit

MITRE ATT&CK reference

MITRE ATT&CK techniques attributed to Qilin across its recorded activity, not a finding about how City of Columbia, SC was reached.

Vulnerabilities Qilin is recorded exploiting

5 of these 6 are in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, 4 of them recorded by CISA as used in ransomware campaigns. CVEs attributed to Qilin across its reported activity. There is no indication that any of these was involved in the City of Columbia, SC incident — the source data does not record an entry point.

Incident analysis

City of Columbia, SC was listed by Qilin ransomware, a group with 2,521 victims recorded in this database. The listing appeared on the group's leak site on October 29, 2026.

City of Columbia, SC is based in United States and operates in the Government & Defense sector. United States ranks #1 worldwide for ransomware disclosures, with 10,230 victims in this database.

Sector context. Organisations in this sector hold valuable data and operational systems that ransomware groups seek to exploit for financial gain through encryption and data exfiltration.

Qilin typically follows a double extortion model: data is exfiltrated from the victim's systems before files are encrypted, so the victim faces two demands at once — pay to restore access, and pay to keep stolen data unpublished. The leak site, where this listing appeared, is the lever for the second demand.

Source. Public leak-site disclosures aggregated via the ransomware.live API. The disclosure date is when the listing was published, which can differ from the date of compromise. This site does not publish or link to stolen data. Last updated .

Frequently asked questions

Was City of Columbia, SC attacked by ransomware?

Yes. City of Columbia, SC was listed as a victim of the Qilin ransomware group on October 29, 2026. The organisation is based in United States and operates in the Government & Defense sector. The disclosure appeared on the group's dark web leak site.

Which ransomware group attacked City of Columbia, SC?

City of Columbia, SC was attacked by Qilin ransomware. Qilin is one of the most active ransomware groups, having claimed 2,521 victims globally. The group typically employs a double-extortion model: encrypting the victim's files and threatening to publish stolen data.

When did the City of Columbia, SC ransomware attack occur?

The ransomware attack on City of Columbia, SC was disclosed on October 29, 2026. This date reflects when the victim was published on the threat group's leak site, which may differ from the actual date of initial compromise.

What data was stolen in the City of Columbia, SC ransomware attack?

The specific data stolen from City of Columbia, SC has not been independently verified by this platform. Ransomware groups typically exfiltrate data before encrypting systems and use the threat of publication to pressure victims. As a Government & Defense organisation, City of Columbia, SC likely held sensitive business data, client information, and operational records.

How can organisations protect against Qilin attacks?

To defend against Qilin and similar threat actors, organisations should: maintain regular offline backups tested for restoration; implement network segmentation to limit lateral movement; deploy multi-factor authentication on all remote access; use endpoint detection and response (EDR) tools; conduct regular phishing and security awareness training; and monitor threat intelligence feeds for indicators of compromise (IOCs) associated with active groups.