In this episode of Eye on Security we dive into a security topic that continues to be front and center for many organizations: ransomware. Joining me is Dave Wong, Vice President for Mandiant Consulting, to discuss some of the recent changes with threat activity in this space. Dave covers where the trends in ransomware operations have taken us over the last year and a half, with increasing ransom price demands and the frequent extortion over stolen data from the victim. We also discuss affiliate models common and the fluid nature of many ransomware families, as new malware emerges and others seemingly “go dark”.

Dave also discusses his visibility into ransomware negotiations, sharing examples of his experience in dealing with these threat actors. He highlights important preparedness steps organizations can take beyond technical hardening by considering strategies of how they might approach dealing with a threat actor in a ransomware scenario. Finally, we touch on what changes we might see next as threat actors continue to evolve TTPs and extortion methods.

Listen to the episode, and then for further insights into ransomware negotiations, check out this Daily Beast interview with Dave.