The Shadowbyt3$ group is relatively new. Your first victim appeared on your site in February 2026. Is Shadowbyt3$ a brand-new group or a rebrand of an old group?

ShadowByt3$ is now an extortion-as-a-service group, which makes it quicker and easier for our affiliates. So we didn't start completely from nothing, if that is what you are asking. Most big groups start small and work their way up, so let's just say that is how it formed.

Why did you choose to start a ransomware operation instead of pursuing a regular job in the cybersecurity field? Is it solely for financial gain, or are there other motivations behind your actions?

All I have to say about this is that most groups also have cybersecurity jobs, in addition to what some people call illegal hacking. To us, it is just payback against companies taking money from everyone. Think about when you go to a store and they tax the hell out of you. There is a cause. Since they taxed you so much, you target that company, and maybe they might pay. Let's just say we have experience in cybersecurity, so we moved into this because companies take from us, so why not take from them? A lot of companies are paying instead of denying it, so we saw an opportunity.

One of your victims is an education company. How do you choose your targets? Do you have any red lines when selecting victims, such as sector, country, or other criteria?

We choose our targets using many methods. If they meet what we are looking for, then they are a target.

According to public data, roughly 50% of your victims come through Infostealer logs. What are your preferred tactics for collecting and operationalizing stealer logs today, and do you have an automated pipeline for this?

This category is a sensitive topic. We don't disclose our secrets, but let's just say we get them fast and very easily.

In April 2026, you published a dox package targeting researcher Eric J. Taylor from Barricade, which was later identified as containing fabricated Infostealer logs. Can you share your perspective on this incident?

For this, it was more of an alert. We don't care what researchers say or think about us. Most people think companies don't pay us, but everyone has gotten that wrong. The Bitcoin and Monero addresses were just for donations, and when a company pays, we send them a one-time Bitcoin or Monero address. Once it is sent, it stays there.

You claimed a breach of Starbucks in early April 2026 via a misconfigured S3 bucket, exfiltrating around 10GB of data, including source code and firmware, and demanded $500,000. Much of the sample data you shared appeared to be publicly accessible or of limited sensitivity. What was the actual value of the data obtained in that operation from your perspective?

The Starbucks breach was easy because they had two misconfigured buckets, and that is all we are saying about that. The one we leaked was a sample because when we took a break, the affiliate lost the mega.nz account that it was tied to.

You asked for a $500,000 ransom from Starbucks and the same amount from much smaller victims. How do you decide the ransom amount? Shouldn't it be correlated to the company's earnings?

We base it on how much they make per year, and for the $500,000, it was just easy because it would put pressure on them to simply pay it, versus 1 million or 2 million dollars.

It seems your extortion method relies only on data leaks, rather than encryption and data leaks. Is there a specific reason behind choosing this approach?

It is because it is simple to do, instead of worrying about updating the ransomware and things like that every year. It saves a lot of time to focus only on extortion, and it broadens the technical barrier for young, appealing teens from any age to 18 plus. It is so easy to do that if a five-year-old had access to a company, they could even do it, whether it is through their parents who work at a multi-million-dollar company or something else. I am not saying a five-year-old should do it, but we can't stop people from a young age from joining our group. As long as they have a company and give us access, or just want to join, that is all that matters. Like I said, we have zero remorse for companies because they take our money anyway. If companies steal money from us, what stops us from fighting back? Nothing stops us, which is why we do what we do. It is not just a job, but payback.

Do you use AI tools in any part of your operations?

The only time you can catch us using AI is for sorting victims' data. It is faster and quicker, so we use AI to do that. But as for our software and the tools we use, they are either coded from scratch or based on leaked tools. Also, we modify other tools that big companies use to blend in with normal traffic, so by the time they see something, it will be too late.

Where do you see ShadowByt3$ in the next 6-12 months?

I don't know yet. It is more of a wait-and-see situation. But I can see more affiliates and more victims listed, as we are just starting, and this is only the beginning.

Is there anything else you'd like to say or share with my followers (40k)?

The last thing we have to say is that we have no beef with other groups. We get along with other groups, so if a group has a problem with us, it is best to contact us so we can get it resolved. The last thing we want is not to get along because we are a family, and family gets along. I am not the type to get into a fight over something stupid. I am super chill, and one thing I hate is fighting. That is not just me, but everyone in the group could speak on my behalf.