Our takeEdward Dubrovsky, a longtime ransomware negotiator, was arrested in Pennsylvania on charges of conspiring to extort nearly 100 organizations while allegedly aiding ShinyHunters. The irony writes itself; if you use third-party negotiators, verify their incentives and track records now.Security Resilience desk
Sources (2)
- darkreading · darkreading
- hackread · hackread
What this means for you — Security leader:Review contracts and NDAs with any external ransomware negotiators or incident response firms you use; treat insider-assisted extortion as an elevated third-party risk.
What this means for you — Lean IT orgs:If you ever hire an outside negotiator during a ransomware incident, vet them carefully and limit what sensitive information you share.
What this means for you — MSP:Add ransomware negotiators and specialist IR firms to your third-party risk reviews; confirm they are not moonlighting for threat actors.
What this means for you — Researcher:Track this prosecution for precedent on negotiator liability and potential conflicts of interest between victims and intermediaries.