Tag Archive for: negotiation

Ransomware Negotiation and Ethics: Navigating the Moral Dilemma

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Ransomware attacks have developed in recent years from mere data breaches to sophisticated operations. These attacks often involve targeting organizations, and these cyber criminals have gone from a minor speck on the digital security radar — to a widespread and highly advanced type of cybercrime. Nowadays, businesses of all sizes and industries find themselves trapped in a game of digital chess. Their opponents use nefarious tactics to compromise essential and sensitive data, holding said data hostage for exorbitant ransoms, with ransomware attacks increasing 105% in 2021.

The difficult choice of whether to engage with hackers holding critical information hostage has repercussions beyond the digital sphere, challenging the ethical foundations of businesses and institutions. A thorough analysis of the ethics behind choosing to negotiate or not is necessary as businesses struggle with the conflicting demands of protecting their operations and honoring their ethical obligations.

The Case for Negotiation

As organizations confront the imminent threat of data loss, operational disruption, and potential harm to stakeholders that may be caused by ransomware, a compelling argument emerges in favor of engaging in negotiations. Therefore, we must examine the most effective techniques for mitigating the effects of ransomware attacks. Although it may appear counterintuitive to some, negotiation can be a useful strategy for safeguarding the interests of victims and the larger digital ecosystem.

    • Data Protection and Business Continuity: Because a business’s capacity to operate is significantly compromised when it is the target of ransomware, negotiation may provide enterprises access to crucial data and systems again, allowing them to resume operations quickly. Negotiation offers victims the opportunity to recover encrypted data while decreasing the impact on their everyday operations; this can be particularly crucial for medical institutions, emergency services, and other essential services that directly affect the safety and well-being of the general public.

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GroupSense Delivers New Ransomware Negotiation Training Service

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Training Service Prepares Ransomware Response Teams for Successful Threat Actor Engagement to Mitigate Damage, Protect Brand Reputation, Anticipate Emerging Threats and More

ARLINGTON, Va., Oct. 19, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — GroupSense, a digital risk protection services company, today announced the launch of a new Ransomware Negotiation Training service offering. During an immersive three-day, in-person training session, participants will learn the proper strategies to combat the negative consequences of an attack from negotiation experts at both GroupSense and Max Negotiating, a negotiation advisory firm that specializes in training lawyers and legal professionals. As a result of the training, participants will be able to help their client organizations identify threat actors, learn key cyber negotiation principles and strategies, protect brand reputation, avoid unnecessary business losses and stay ahead of emerging threats.

According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Internet Crime Complaint Center, ransomware complaints increased 62% from 2020 to 2021. The increase in attacks makes negotiation with threat actors a crucial part of enabling an organization to resume operations, reducing permanent data loss and eliminating regulatory fines and penalties. While response teams, typically led by lawyers, are accustomed to negotiating on their client’s behalf, many have never communicated directly with threat actors or conducted negotiations under the constraints they impose. With GroupSense’s Ransomware Negotiation Training, participants will discover the ins-and-outs of ransomware attacks, the intricacies of threat actor engagement, discern their role in a ransomware negotiation and master a proactive ransomware response strategy.

“The business impact of a ransomware attack can be severe – revenue loss, brand and reputation damage, operational and business disruption, increased cyber insurance premiums and legal consequences,” said Maxwell Bevilacqua, chief negotiating officer of Max Negotiating. “By teaming up with GroupSense, we’re able to pair their expert ransomware negotiators with our negotiation experts to help clients – such as lawyers and law firms with…

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Best Bill Negotiation Services of 2021

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Select’s editorial team works independently to review financial products and write articles we think our readers will find useful. We may receive a commission when you click on links for products from our affiliate partners.

If you feel like your monthly bills are always increasing, you’re not alone. In some major cities across the U.S., energy bills are expected to spike as much as 10% due to fluctuating fossil fuel prices and climate change. And year over year, it’s not unusual to see your bills creep up thanks to expiring promotions, taxes, fees, add-ons, etc.

Of course, you can always contact your service providers directly when you want to negotiate down fees and subscription charges. But with our busy lives, not everyone has the time to spend hours on the phone with no guarantee they will score a better rate. Increasingly, there are businesses popping up that offer bill negotiation services, either through an app or a website, that lets consumers hire experts to do the work for them.

For a fee (usually a percentage of your total savings), trained professionals who are up-to-date on the latest rates for various companies will negotiate for you with the goal of saving you a nice chunk of change on your monthly bills. After all, these businesses only make money when you save.

Typically, these services can negotiate your phone, internet and cable bills. However, some companies also include medical bill negotiation along with home security and other subscriptions. Usually, all you need to do is upload the monthly bills you want negotiated, and let the experts take it away. Sometimes, you’ll need to give them authorization to do the negotiating.

Select reviewed roughly a dozen bill negotiation companies, looking at fees, types of bills negotiated, Better Business Bureau and consumer reviews and ratings, as well security features. (Read our methodology for more information on how we choose the best bill negotiation services.) Here are our top picks:

Select’s picks for the top bill negotiation services

Bill negotiation services FAQs

Best overall

Billcutterz

On Billcutterz’ secure site

  • Cost

    Charges 50% on whatever savings you earn (can pay monthly or receive 10% discount for paying in full…

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Watching a $1.14 million ransomware negotiation between hackers and scientists searching for COVID-19 treatments

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An anonymous tip-off to BBC News enabled them to watch in real-time as an American medical university attempted to negotiate with the hackers who had infected its systems with ransomware.

Graham Cluley