Finally, ransomware victims are refusing to pay up The amount of money paid to ransomware attackers dropped significantly in 2022, and not because the number of attacks fell. It's that more victims are refusing to pay the ransoms, blockchain research firm Chainalysis said in a report Thursday. They estimate that since 2019, victim payment rates have fallen from 76 percent to …
I'd venture that since there's very little personal data about us that hasn't been exposed already, companies aren't as afraid of that as they once were. Thus, the refusal to pay a ransom is a decision that's much easier to make now.
What was once "Release all our customer's data on the dark web!!?? OH MY GOD! NO!!" is now "Go ahead. We'll pay a piddling fine to regulators and move on."
On top of that, being hit by a ransomware attack is no longer the embarrassment it previously was. So firm no longer feel they have to pay and stay silent, to avoid reputational damage. If anything, being hit is now a bit of a PR opportunity, see we were hit, look how important we are, but dont worry we wont pay these buggers, and look at how good our recovery procedures are!!!
I also read elsewhere in an interview with someone who handles the negotiation between firms and the ransomware scum, that if there is even so much as a hint that the ransomware gang in question is even tangentially related to the Russian government or the FSB, then no negotiation will occur, and no payment made because that gets considered breaching the current sanctions against the Russian Government and ends up in fines (and potentially personal punishments for the CEO, etc.) that would make any ransomware payment seem like something you would take from the petty cash in comparison...
Since so many russian ransomware scum came out and declared there undying love for Putin's regime, they also managed to wipe out a large portion of their income at the same time...
Or not, if selling the data to bidders generate more income than selling to the owners.
I cannot but correlate some stupid decisions like:
- Should we buy cheap Russian gas and let our population pay lower energy bills, and let our national industry to flourish with cheap energy?
- Or Should we ban Russian gas + buy American gas for 4x price, let our population pay higher energy bills or freeze in the winter, and to let our industries enter recession or close because there is no cheap energy anymore?
There was a time when I really admired German intelligence...
Not the case anymore...
Your name is Neville Chamberlain, and I claim my 5 marks.
Can't believe someone would choose to support a warlord to save a couple of bucks, especially since emboldened warlords tend to not stop until they're made to stop. It would not be long before Western Europe would see war again. Europeans learned that in the 1940s, and passed the lesson of "don't appease warlords" to their kids, but evidently one kid didn't pay attention in history class.
Icon is close, but is holding up the wrong finger.
And yet the west pays homage to Saudi Arabia, who are responsible for many more (civilian) deaths than the Russians. Facts that are suppressed daily by the why-you-can-trust-us BBC and other western media.
The real question should be "why hasn't the Saudi government already been classified as terrorists, the same as the Wagner group?"
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