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Ransomware Victim Public Sector

www.cityofbellville.com

Ransomware attack by Vanhelsing · Disclosed March 17, 2025 · 🇺🇸 United States

cityofbellville.com

Date Disclosed
Mar 17, 2025
2025
Threat Group
Vanhelsing
8 total victims
Country
🇺🇸 United States
Industry
Public Sector

ThreatAI Analysis

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

About the Vanhelsing group

VanHelsing is a multi-platform RaaS operation that launched on March 7, 2025, requiring a $5,000 affiliate deposit and splitting ransoms 80/20, supporting Windows, Linux, BSD, ARM, and ESXi targets, reaching at least five victims across the US, France, Italy, and Australia within its first two months. Vanhelsing has listed 8 victims since March 2025.

Incident Analysis

www.cityofbellville.com was targeted by Vanhelsing ransomware, one of the most active ransomware groups in our database with 8 confirmed victims globally. The attack was disclosed on March 17, 2025, when www.cityofbellville.com appeared on the group's dark web leak site.

www.cityofbellville.com is based in United States , operating in the Public Sector sector. United States ranks #1 globally for ransomware attacks, with 9,476 victims in our 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.

Vanhelsing 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 12, 2026 16:00 UTC.

Frequently Asked Questions

Was www.cityofbellville.com attacked by ransomware?

Yes. www.cityofbellville.com was listed as a victim of the Vanhelsing ransomware group on March 17, 2025. The organisation is based in United States and operates in the Public Sector sector. The disclosure appeared on the group's dark web leak site.

Which ransomware group attacked www.cityofbellville.com?

www.cityofbellville.com was attacked by Vanhelsing ransomware. Vanhelsing is one of the most active ransomware groups, having claimed 8 victims globally. The group typically employs a double-extortion model: encrypting the victim's files and threatening to publish stolen data.

When did the www.cityofbellville.com ransomware attack occur?

The ransomware attack on www.cityofbellville.com was disclosed on March 17, 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 www.cityofbellville.com ransomware attack?

The specific data stolen from www.cityofbellville.com 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 Public Sector organisation, www.cityofbellville.com likely held sensitive business data, client information, and operational records.

How can organisations protect against Vanhelsing attacks?

To defend against Vanhelsing 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.