Johnson Development Corp. Data Breach: Aurora Ransomware Claim (Nov 2026)
Summary
In the latest cybersecurity news, Johnson Development Corp. — an organization based in US — has fallen victim to a ransomware attack conducted by the group aurora. This data breach, discovered on 2026-11-09T12:44:03.193782+00:00, underscores the increasing need for proactive cybersecurity defenses as we continue through 2026.
Incident Report
| Attribute | Information |
|---|---|
| Target Organization | Johnson Development Corp. |
| Threat Group | aurora |
| Summary | [developer] Johnson Development Corp., a Houston, Texas-based privately held master-planned residential community developer founded circa 1975 by Larry D. Johnson (deceased), operating through The Johnson Companies LP (TJC LP) as the family-owned holding company, with 25+ active communities across Texas (Cross Creek Ranch, Grand Central Park, Sienna, Trinity Falls, Woodforest, Imperial, Jordan Ranch, Viridian, Bryson, Lake Arrowhead, and others) and a Georgia subsidiary (Johnson Dev Co Georgia LLC). Tricon Capital Group invested approximately $18.5 million in the development-management division in 2014. Current headcount: approximately 109 employees across Texas and Georgia offices. The company is managed by Kirk W. Boswell (President/VP/Treasurer across 100+ entities) and Elizabeth F. York (Secretary/VP/Registered Agent across 200+ entities), with the Johnson family (Suzanne Johnson, Jennifer Johnson, Chad Johnson, Nick Johnson) as beneficial owners.
The dataset comprises approximately 661 GB exfiltrated from the corporate file server across three major branches — Cash Management (808 MB), company (659 GB), and hrshare (1.5 GB) — capturing the company’s entire digital footprint spanning 30 years of operations from 1996 through August 2026. The HR share contains 14 years of payroll records (2013–2026) for TJC LP, Johnson Development Services LLC, and Johnson Dev Co Georgia LLC, with semi-monthly officer/employee salaries of approximately $494,000 per period, FICA, Medicare, federal/state withholdings, 401k contributions, and insurance deductions. The 401k participant list names 109 current employees with contribution eligibility status, and companion census reports likely contain SSNs, dates of birth, compensation, and account balances spanning 12 annual filings. Workers compensation claims cover 2016–2026 including Georgia-specific claims. Employee HR folders contain I-9s, offer letters, insurance enrollment, photos, and performance records. The legal and corporate governance archives include a CTA Transparency Company List detailing beneficial ownership for 239 entities with EINs, ownership percentages, officer names, registered agents, and formation types, plus 21 individual FinCen ID submission receipts. Entity organizational charts (79 files, current through June 2026), the Last Will and Testament of Larry D. Johnson and associated estate/partition documents, confidential settlement and release agreements, severance agreements, employment contracts, and 74 GB of executive Outlook PST email archives across four users spanning 2018–2025. The financial reporting archive contains 498 audit and review reports from eight firms (Ernst & Young, Weaver, Deloitte & Touche, BKD, PwC, Whitley Penn, CliftonLarsonAllen, and Null-Lairson) spanning 1996–2025, including engagement letters, management representation letters, attorney confirmation letters, governance letters, internal control deficiency notifications, and bond consent materials. Twenty-two years of federal and state income tax returns (2004–2026), bank account analyses across 17+ banks from 2006–2026, and partner meeting materials for all 25+ active communities complete the financial picture. |
| Date of Breach | 2026-11-09T00:00:00+00:00 |
| Discovery Date | 2026-11-09T12:44:03.193782+00:00 |
| Target Domain | Johnson Development Corp. |
| Business Sector | Other |
How to reduce your ransomware risk
Most ransomware intrusions start with a stolen password or a phishing email. A few proactive steps sharply cut your exposure:
- continuous breach monitoring — close the gap attackers exploit.
- realistic phishing tests — close the gap attackers exploit.
Want to know if you’re already exposed? Run a free scan with the HookPhish data breach checker.
Disclaimer
HookPhish does not engage in the exfiltration, downloading, taking, hosting, viewing, reposting, or disclosure of any stolen information. All breach data reported here is sourced from publicly available threat intelligence feeds for awareness purposes only.
