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The Ransomware Dilemma: What if Your Local Government Is Next?
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REISEN1955
REISEN1955,
 User Rank: Ninja
6/5/2019 | 1:09:49 PM
Re: What if you pay, then get hit again?
FOR A SMILE - Firms that lack a backup strategy (damn dumb) now have one - their encrypted data stored securely by thieves.  Negotiate a payment plan and if they backup but do not encrypt the data locally, then the firm has a viable and secure method of restoration and recovery.  Monthly fee service. See, it works if you think weird.
RyanSepe
RyanSepe,
 User Rank: Ninja
5/31/2019 | 3:12:02 PM
Re: What if you pay, then get hit again?
Agreed. The reason companies are typically told not to pay the ransom is because you are operating under the mechanism that you are expecting an unethical entity to act ethically and do what they say they are going to do. Nothing stopping them from going back on their promises and exposing either the data or secrets that you don't want exposed. 

On the flip side if they are extorting data and you don't have a viable backup program, then you may be at their mercy for getting back.

Its really a lose lose any way you look at it.
BanduraCSO
BanduraCSO,
 User Rank: Author
5/31/2019 | 8:17:49 AM
Re: What if you pay, then get hit again?
Totally agree.  Guess the conundrum is there are a healthy number of organizations that are paying and so how do you stop something like this that's already in motion.  On the cost side, Baltimore is now pointing to $8.1 million in lost revenue.  I think if we expand this analysis out the real issue is comparing all of these costs against the investment they should have made to ensure an up to date IT infrastructure and more importantly to apply a patch that's been available for two years. 
schopj
schopj,
 User Rank: Strategist
5/30/2019 | 3:43:53 PM
What if you pay, then get hit again?
One of the things to consider when looking at the initial ransom cost vs cost of recovery is the cost of the next infection.  If you pay, the attackers now know youre willing to pay.  They ARE going to target you again.  So that 100,000 could quickly turn into much more over time because now youre seen as an easy target.  A city that doesnt pay, it doesnt make much sense for attackers to spend a lot of time and effort infecting them again when they get nothing out of it.  If we really want these types of attacks to stop, we need to make it cost more and profit less.  The only way to do that is for all businesses and governments to refuse to pay.  Without payment, the attackers will move on.  As long as even some vitims choose to pay, there will be more and more victims and the costs over the entire economy will keep going up.  
BigKahuna13
BigKahuna13,
 User Rank: Apprentice
5/30/2019 | 12:52:22 PM
To pay, or not to pay?
Scary how many groups and organizations have silently paid to avoid the public humiliation that Baltimore is currently enduring.


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