You can’t afford to pay for it. But there's a twist now, some ransomware gangs are offering victims payment extension options.
Recent activity reveals that ransomware groups are getting creative with their extortion strategies. One group is even offering victims options when it comes to paying their ransom demands. These options include:
Paying to delay the publication of their stolen data, with a standard fee of $10,000… or paying to have their stolen data deleted before it's made public.
The amount charged is negotiated with victims, adding a chilling dimension to the whole ordeal.
And to increase the pressure on victims, these ransomware groups have added additional pressure and motivating features to their websites. These include countdown timers displaying how much time businesses have before their data is released, view counters, and even tags revealing the victim's identity and description.
It's all designed to apply pressure and corner you into giving up your money.
You will be tempted to pay a ransom to protect your business data. But not so fast. Paying is always a bad idea and here’s why…
Making the payment or meeting demands doesn't guarantee you'll get your critical data back or that cybercriminals won't demand more money later.
By paying, you're essentially funding criminal activities, encouraging them to continue their attacks on others.
So, what can you do to safeguard your business from falling victim to ransomware?
Making a payment to cyber criminals rarely makes things better, plus we’ve learned that criminals who receive a successful payout return to the same place to get another.
Instead, invest in the proactive cyber security measures above to help you stay secure.
If we can help you with proactive security measures, or an incident response plan, contact us.