A growing swarm of ransomware attacks has created a cottage industry of tech whizzes willing to do what companies and law enforcement won’t: negotiate with the cybercriminals taking systems and data hostage.
The FBI’s stated policy is that it does not negotiate with cyberattackers, the same way it does not negotiate with terrorists. That policy has helped open a market for private cybersecurity professionals who specialize in interacting with attackers on behalf of victims who decide to pay rather than wait for the government to solve their cases.