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Four questions to answer before paying a ransomware demand

The cybersecurity expert believes that one should never pay the ransom that cybercriminal demands as it encourages them. Many of the infected firms have paid the ransom, and those who haven’t been paid wish they should have paid it.

Most of the impacted firms have paid the ransom because there was no other option of recovery except to fulfil their demand. The cybercriminals are getting better in causing damage through ransomware. They access different systems, investigate, and identify critical pain points to maximize the impact of their attacks. More people are paying the ransomware as these cyber-attacks makes it harder to recover or repair, and the attackers are getting better in it. According to a study, it was concluded that more than 40% of the ransom paid was just fraud, whereas they did not fully infect the system. Here are a few tips to determine whether you should pay a ransomware demand or not.

How bad is the damage?

Before paying a ransom demand, a firm should answer the following questions. Can they deal with future damage? Did the attackers have to get access to the backup? Do you need to change the passwords? Do you need a network scrub for malware and malicious network connections? Do you know the extent of the damage and the reach?

How good are your restore capabilities?

Despite having a secure backup, have you ever tested to restore all the critical assets? How long will it take to restore all the data from the backup? Are you sure that the attackers don’t have access to the backup? Are all the data in the backup online and reachable by the attacker?

Do you have a business continuity plan in place?

Will your business continuity plan (BCP) handle the ransomware event in case you don’t pay the ransom? If not, that means more downtime and more alternative data processes. How much downtime can your BCP handle or cover? If the estimated downtime exceeds the BCP’s ability to handle it, do you pay the ransom right from the start?

Do you have senior management support?

The support of senior management is essential whether you pay or not pay the ransom demand. Having the confidence of senior management is vital; they should know about the data backup and restoring process.