GuidePoint talks ransomware negotiations, payment bans

August 22, 2024 – Published on TechTarget

As the ransomware threat increases, more victim organizations are facing difficult decisions on whether to pay the ransom and how to negotiate with threat actors to resume operations.

During Black Hat USA 2024, TechTarget Editorial spoke with Mark Lance, vice president of digital forensics and incident response at GuidePoint Security, who specializes in negotiating with ransomware gangs on behalf of victim organizations following disruptive attacks. Lance highlighted challenges enterprises face when making the decision and expanded on what goes into the process. In addition, he weighed in on the ongoing ransomware payment ban discussion, which was sparked again earlier this year as the threat increased.

Lance also shed light on changes he’s observed among the most active ransomware groups. While some, like the LockBit ransomware gang, might be taking a back seat, new groups have emerged, making the threat more prevalent than ever. GuidePoint currently tracks 60 ransomware gangs.

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