Cybercrime
When the negotiators go bad!
Every ransomware incident runs on one uncomfortable assumption: that the people you bring in to help are actually on your side. A case that concluded in a Florida federal court this month blew a hole straight through that assumption. Three cyber professionals — two of them ransomware negotiators whose day job was to defend victims — have been sentenced for working as an affiliate crew of the ALPHV/BlackCat operation. One of them didn’t just moonlight as an attacker; he sold out the very clients who were paying him to protect them.
This is not another “big scary ransomware gang” story. It’s an insider-threat story, and it lands right in the middle of the incident-response industry itself. If you run an IR practice, negotiate on behalf of victims, broker cyber insurance, or you’re a CISO who will one day have to trust one of these firms on the worst day of your career — this one is worth your time.
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