{"id":56050,"date":"2024-05-12T20:03:14","date_gmt":"2024-05-12T20:03:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.threatshub.org\/blog\/ransomware-negotiator-weighs-in-on-the-extortion-payment-debate-with-el-reg\/"},"modified":"2024-05-12T20:03:14","modified_gmt":"2024-05-12T20:03:14","slug":"ransomware-negotiator-weighs-in-on-the-extortion-payment-debate-with-el-reg","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.threatshub.org\/blog\/ransomware-negotiator-weighs-in-on-the-extortion-payment-debate-with-el-reg\/","title":{"rendered":"Ransomware negotiator weighs in on the extortion payment debate with El Reg"},"content":{"rendered":"

Interview<\/span> Ransomware hit an all-time high last year, with more than 60 criminal gangs listing at least 4,500 victims \u2013 and these infections don’t show any signs of slowing.<\/p>\n

Drew Schmitt is a professional ransomware negotiator<\/a> and practice lead for the GuidePoint Research and Intelligence Team or GRIT \u2014 that’s the team that compiled the above-mentioned 2023 figures<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In this role, Schmitt has interacted with all of the major ransomware crews. The Register<\/em> recently caught up with him to discuss the criminal gangs’ evolving ransomware tactics, the role he plays in companies’ incident response when they have suffered an infection or intrusion, and the larger question of whether ransomware payments should be completely banned. You can watch the full interview below.<\/p>\n