Negotiating With Cyber Terrorists
Washington post interview: how to negotiate with cyber-terrorists
Kivu’s Global Managing Director Winston Krone was recently featured in the Washington Post and Bloomberg Opinion, talking to journalist Mark Gilbert about how ransomware threat actors have adapted to the ‘new normal’.
From the recent surge in ransomware attacks to a trend targeting manufacturers, the interview covered large ground and touched on how – and why – attackers are choosing their victims. Says Krone,
“Attackers have waited. The value of a ransomware attack is much bigger now that companies have gotten through the worst part of Covid and have the money to pay.”
And while paying a ransom is always the last resort, threat actors are well aware of the nature of their victims’ business operations and often leave them with little other choice – unless functional backups are available. The likely outcome of a ransomware incident also depends to a large extent on the profile of the attackers, with more sophisticated outfits often times providing more reliable decryption keys and even ‘customer service’ support.