We really thought it'd be really interesting for our listeners to know more about how it works in ransomware response process, how a company decides to pay the ransom, how that process works through a negotiator.
I don't believe anybody really starts with the intent of being a ransomware negotiator.
You didn't really need to speak to these criminals, ultimately.
That's where we really started seeing in 2021 and onwards, the seven-figure ransoms and so on.
Really, I think it's a product of necessity that we became negotiators in this sense.
Really, you know, the concept or the structure of negotiation is something that you can teach anybody in about 10 minutes.
You don't really have leverage other than really walking away.
Okay, so if we come in and we start with a very typical show me what you have, show me you can decrypt, show me and they can see very, very quickly if we're delaying and that is our tactic, buying time, as the industry likes to call it, but you're really not buying anything just so you understand.
So this is why it's really, really important when we talk about negotiators to understand that they understand us as well.
These are the really high-risk type of negotiations.
Then you've got the snakes, which are all the one-offs that have no name, no reputation to care about, and really don't really care about upholding their end of the deal.
That's why really intelligence and profiling who your adversary is, that's why it's so paramount.
We're very clear around our recommendations based on our experience and our suggestions, but it's really a collaborative effort with the stakeholders.
We have to remember that a negotiator is really an advisor first and foremost.
It's very difficult for a businessperson on the client side or anybody else to look around and say, well, you know, as a business person, I'm a really good negotiator, so I'm gonna bring those skills to this negotiation, not realizing that they could be very emotional.
I'm sure Joe has seen those as well, but you know, we're talking about negotiations and one of my fears is that we're trying to convey a really romantic kind of a view of the negotiator.
We have to remember who we're dealing with and I'll tell you a story because I think story is really emphasize.
We're gonna reach a really good outcome for you, but please stop attacking because babies are going to die.
Now, that's why, again, that's why the importance of, and we're stressing this a lot because it's really one of the fundamentals of negotiating.
You have to take in the information, process it, and really try and eliminate as much as possible, emotions.
This Cyber News was published on www.darkreading.com. Publication date: Thu, 27 Jun 2024 17:55:12 +0000