GuidePoint talks ransomware negotiations, payment bans

At the Black Hat USA 2024 event, GuidePoint Security’s VP of digital forensics and incident response, Mark Lance, emphasized the complexity of interactions with ransomware attackers. He explained the decision-making process around paying ransoms, which can often be seen as controversial or ethically fraught. Lance also highlighted that ransomware groups usually cooperate, providing decryption keys upon payment, since maintaining a reputation of reliability sustains their illegal business model.