What do I do if I’ve been hacked and am given a ransom? Don’t call the FBI, because the FBI says you’re on your own. So what do you do?
We both know paying the ransom, does not mean the information won’t be published, as many cases have shown us. However paying the ransom over your customers sensitive data does give you a chance to potentially stop the information from being published. So, if you have no chance to stop the release of information, or have a chance, which would you pick?
Paying a ransom is not how you should ever think to handle security, but if you are already in such a precarious situation, paying the ransom is one of the better ideas we can think of while you have an independent security team figure out what happened and see if they can attribute the attack. Attributing attacks can be difficult, but that is a discussion for another time.
You should be having your site secured as tight as a fortress, which we do our best to do for customers, but always have backup plans. Plan B should not be paying a ransom, plan B should be pro-actively trying to stop the attack. If plan B doesn’t work, then plan C is an option where you could pay the ransom or not pay it.
A better way to look at the problem is what happens if you don’t pay? Will you be destroyed? Will your customers information, which they entrusted you with be leaked? It certainly seems in that situation paying the ransom, may very well be worth it, but to some it still isn’t. We get it, if we follow principal, it is never right to pay a ransom. However, when your company is at stake and it is too late to secure your systems, it may be your best chance for not being destroyed.
If hackers are just making it impossible to connect to your site, well that is easy to take care of and we sell a product that will take care of that in no time. Paying a ransom is last resort, because most don’t give ransoms, and those who do can’t be trusted. What you should do is invest your money into protecting your site now, instead of trying to react when you’re hacked. Being pro-active is the best thing you can do for your company.
In no way does Planet Zuda condone ransoms in any shape or form, we are simply providing information on a situation, many end up in due to not protecting their customers private information adequately.
