INC Ransomware Attack: Impact, Victims, Recovery | Huntress
INC is a ransomware operation associated with file encryption, ransom notes, and as seen in some Huntress investigations, data staging or exfiltration before encryption.
INC is a ransomware operation associated with file encryption, ransom notes, and as seen in some Huntress investigations, data staging or exfiltration before encryption.
Terms such as “INC ransomware group,” “INC operation,” and “INC-related activity” describe the ransomware name and activity observed in specific investigations.
Shortly after, Huntress analysts documented a week-long intrusion involving discovery, data collection, staging, exfiltration, and an attempted deployment of the encryptor, giving defenders an early, detailed look at how an INC incident can unfold from initial access to attempted impact.
Third-party reporting offers more specific attribution than Huntress' incident data does on its own.
Organizations experiencing a ransomware incident should involve appropriate incident-response, legal, insurance, and law-enforcement resources.
In a 2026 investigation, Huntress researchers found two INC ransom notes on the victim organization’s impacted systems.
As with many ransomware operations, an INC incident can involve several distinct participants regardless of the operator's identity: an initial access broker who sells or provides entry into a network, an affiliate who conducts the intrusion, and an operator who deploys the encryption payload.
The September 2026 incident Huntress investigated featured a 17-day lull between initial access and deployment of the ransomware and note, which could indicate the use of an initial access broker.
The observed access paths, tooling, and operator behavior vary by incident, so this profile focuses on documented behaviors rather than presenting a single, fixed INC playbook.
The available evidence does not support identifying phishing, a specific vulnerability, RDP, or RMM software as the definitive INC access method.
What happened
INC is a ransomware operation associated with file encryption, ransom notes, and as seen in some Huntress investigations, data staging or exfiltration before encryption.
Terms such as “INC ransomware group,” “INC operation,” and “INC-related activity” describe the ransomware name and activity observed in specific investigations.
What changed
Shortly after, Huntress analysts documented a week-long intrusion involving discovery, data collection, staging, exfiltration, and an attempted deployment of the encryptor, giving defenders an early, detailed look at how an INC incident can unfold from initial access to attempted impact.
Third-party reporting offers more specific attribution than Huntress' incident data does on its own.
Who is affected
Organizations experiencing a ransomware incident should involve appropriate incident-response, legal, insurance, and law-enforcement resources.
In a 2026 investigation, Huntress researchers found two INC ransom notes on the victim organization’s impacted systems.
Why it matters
As with many ransomware operations, an INC incident can involve several distinct participants regardless of the operator's identity: an initial access broker who sells or provides entry into a network, an affiliate who conducts the intrusion, and an operator who deploys the encryption payload.
The September 2026 incident Huntress investigated featured a 17-day lull between initial access and deployment of the ransomware and note, which could indicate the use of an initial access broker.
Technical details
The observed access paths, tooling, and operator behavior vary by incident, so this profile focuses on documented behaviors rather than presenting a single, fixed INC playbook.
The available evidence does not support identifying phishing, a specific vulnerability, RDP, or RMM software as the definitive INC access method.
Paying a ransom does not guarantee file recovery or deletion of stolen data.
Response
Huntress has documented INC-related activity in investigations from 2023, 2024, and in February and September 2026 .
We do not claim that every later incident was carried out by the same individuals; ransomware variants are frequently used by more than one set of operators, and corroborating that is outside the scope of a single incident review.
What security teams should do
In a February 2026 investigation, Huntress observed Restic-based data staging and activity associated with cloud-storage infrastructure.
Huntress has since observed related activity in 2024, 2025, and 2026, including remote management and monitoring (RMM) software abuse and tampering with security controls.
Attribution
Huntress: INC is a ransomware operation associated with file encryption, ransom notes, and as seen in some Huntress investigations, data staging or exfiltration before encryption.
What to watch next
Watch for updated vendor guidance and fixed-version details.