CDW data to be leaked next week after negotiations with LockBit break down

CDW, one of the largest resellers on the planet, will have its data leaked by LockBit after negotiations over the ransom fee broke down, a spokesperson for the cybercrime gang says. Speaking to The Register, the spokesperson, who uses the alias LockBitSupp, implied that during negotiations CDW offered a sum that was so low it …

[Andy The Hat]

General question

If a company pays a fee to a ransomware organisation, is that company guilty of knowingly aiding and abetting criminal activities thus making itself liable to criminal prosecution?

[Lurko]

Re: General question

The answer may vary by jurisdiction. There's a good Pinsent Masons article on this that any search will pick up. It is illegal in the UK if the demanding entity is on the OFSI sanctions list, my guess is that the ransomware gangs are sufficiently ill defined there's no prospect of proving a ransom was paid to a sanctioned entity.

I would think though that shareholders would have a case for breach of fidiciary responsibilities if directors pay a ransom - after all, it's then the directors spending shareholders money to sort out a mess caused by the directors failure to secure the data with which the company has been entrusted.

[zuckzuckgo]

Re: General question

Verses being guilty of allowing private corporate and customer data to be released, possibly violating privacy laws and exposing themselves to potential civil and criminal litigation? It is a no win situation. Where is Jim Kirk when you need him?

[Brad Ackerman]

Re: General question

The ransomware group has the data. It's already been released and legal liability has been incurred. The choice is strictly whether or not to provide a gratuity to them and potentially win a long vacation at His Majesty's pleasure.

[Blackjack]

Re: General question

Even more important question, what assurances you have they won't sell the data they stole even if you pay?

[Doctor Syntax]

sometime, somewhere, somebody is going to decide that a couple of hitmen will be cheaper than a ransom, even taking into account the cost of locating who you're gunning for.

[sitta_europea]

"...sometime, somewhere, somebody is going to decide that a couple of hitmen will be cheaper..."

When my mail servers respond with "450 4.7.24" to a blackmail attempt, they also explain that the usual fee has been forwarded to the "enforcer".

(And yes, that's a tempfail. }:-)

[Clausewitz4.0]

I heard good hitmen are pretty expensive...

[wsm]

They don't have to be good

Everyone only wants something cheaper than the ransom.

[Nonymous Crowd Nerd]

somebody is going to decide that a couple of hit men?

Implicit in this response to a ransom demand is an acknowledgement of the total failure of law enforcement to address the problem.

This failure is so total, that no one seems even to find it worth mentioning.

[Anonymous Coward]

Just make sure that...

..the bill of these hitmen is stored out of reach of the next ransomware team.

Otherwise, you'll really have to pay the ransom, next time.

[Tron]

Oh brave new world, where criminals have blogs.

When not nicking stuff do they post cat videos? Recipes? Amazing how they stay up when useful stuff like Wikileaks got taken down.

Imagine if dodgy geezers in the past had had blogs. Peter Sutcliffe could have reviewed his murders and offered tips on dodging the old bill. Saddam could have had a gallery of potential human shields and asked users to vote on which ones to use. The official French Revolutionary blog - which would have changed hands quite frequently - could post Guillotine videos to scare the Aristos.

[very angry man]

JUST BLOODY RUDE!

If I got a responce like this:

Its automatic email reply reads: "Thank you for contacting CDW. Your inquiry has been received and will be reviewed. Should there be a fit or an interest in engaging further, we will be in touch as soon as possible."

it would be "BURN BABY BURN"

you are not worth saving so I wont phone the fire service.

[Dr Who]

Ironically if you search for CDW ransomware attack, along with headlines such as this Reg article, you get a bunch of results from CDW's own blog such as :

- How to Increase Your Ransomware Recovery Capability - Work with an expert partner to learn how your organization can better prepare to recover from a ransomware attack

- Fend Off Ransomware with a Cybersecurity Recovery Program

- The Anatomy of a Ransomware Attack: 7 Steps to Prepare ...

If nothing else, this incident will somewhat dent their credentials as a trusted cyber security partner I would think. In a similar fashion to the way the house robots dent the amateur entries in robot wars ...

[garwhale]

If nobody ever pays, the value of the data will be much less, and less resources will be available for such ransom attacks. Just like if everybody ignores spam, it will disappear. The fact that both are increasing shows that cyber crime pays. Sad.