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Ransomware Victim Education

Winner School District 59-2

Ransomware attack by Beast · Disclosed July 29, 2025 · 🇺🇸 United States

www.winner.k12.sd.us

Date Disclosed
Jul 29, 2025
2025
Threat Group
Beast
72 total victims
Country
🇺🇸 United States
Industry
Education

ThreatAI Analysis

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

About the Beast group

Beast is a Ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) product which provides functionality such as SMB scanning, file encryption, service and process starting and stopping, and geographic identification to avoid encryption in CIS countries. Beast has listed 70 victims since December 2023.

Incident Analysis

Winner School District 59-2 was targeted by Beast ransomware, one of the most active ransomware groups in our database with 72 confirmed victims globally. The attack was disclosed on July 29, 2025, when Winner School District 59-2 appeared on the group's dark web leak site.

Winner School District 59-2 is based in United States , operating in the Education sector. United States ranks #1 globally for ransomware attacks, with 9,421 victims in our database.

Sector context: Educational institutions often have under-resourced IT security teams and hold large amounts of student and faculty personal data, making them attractive targets for ransomware groups.

Beast typically employs a double extortion model: first exfiltrating sensitive data from the victim's systems, then deploying ransomware to encrypt files. Victims face two simultaneous threats — paying to restore access and paying to prevent publication of stolen data. The group's leak site publishes victim names and exfiltrated data as leverage.

Data source: This incident record is sourced from public ransomware group leak site disclosures aggregated via the ransomware.live API. Disclosure date reflects when the victim was published on the leak site, which may differ from the initial date of compromise. This platform does not publish or link to stolen data. Last data update: Sep 6, 2026 16:00 UTC.

Frequently Asked Questions

Was Winner School District 59-2 attacked by ransomware?

Yes. Winner School District 59-2 was listed as a victim of the Beast ransomware group on July 29, 2025. The organisation is based in United States and operates in the Education sector. The disclosure appeared on the group's dark web leak site.

Which ransomware group attacked Winner School District 59-2?

Winner School District 59-2 was attacked by Beast ransomware. Beast is one of the most active ransomware groups, having claimed 72 victims globally. The group typically employs a double-extortion model: encrypting the victim's files and threatening to publish stolen data.

When did the Winner School District 59-2 ransomware attack occur?

The ransomware attack on Winner School District 59-2 was disclosed on July 29, 2025. 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 Winner School District 59-2 ransomware attack?

The specific data stolen from Winner School District 59-2 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 Education organisation, Winner School District 59-2 likely held student and faculty personal data and academic records.

How can organisations protect against Beast attacks?

To defend against Beast 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.