Ransomware payment bans need universal buy-in

[Pelican Press 0]

Ransomware payment bans need universal buy-in

Banning ransomware payments is the only viable deterrent to cyber ********* gangs in the long term. Recent attacks on the British Library, Boeing, and even government departments indicate the ongoing popularity of this brutal form of cyber *******.

The most obvious point in favour of enacting a blanket ban on ransomware payments is that it would strip the pockets of threat actors. When organisations make a ransomware payment, they are funding future attacks and paying for the development of ********* activities.

Here at

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we’ve spent time analysing the ********* ecosystem, and we know cyber ********** are investing time, money and effort into any activity that produces revenue, which is exactly what ransomware does!

Another angle we must consider is that paying ransomware demands puts a bright red target on an organisation’s back, unfortunately showcasing that an organisation which has previously paid up is ultimately willing to engage with **********.

Not only does this put victims at a higher risk of double or triple extortion from one incident, but as threat actors will sell information to other gangs, news of a company’s forced co-operation will spread to the broader ********* ecosystem. The potential to rinse and repeat is virtually endless until a company stops paying or goes bankrupt.

I clearly agree with Ciaran Martin’s call to ban ransomware payments, but it’s only effective if all organisations buy in. The level of disruption cyber ********** would experience from a ban would be hugely frustrating to them; as a community, we’d undermine decades of threat actors’ research and development, which would be a colossal win for the safety of companies across the globe.

As long as there’s a chance that organisations will keep paying sizable ransoms and where there are vulnerabilities that can be exploited, cyber ********** will continue to leverage this type of *******. Banning ransomware payments will decrease the success of one of the most trusted weapons in these gang’s arsenals.

Jack Chapman is vice president of threat intelligence at 

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#Ransomware #payment #bans #universal #buyin

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