Colonial is being widely lambasted for a culture of absolutely lackadaisical security. Call me callous but numerous federal agencies exist to issue security best practices and exploit announcements. numerous vendors also exist. play stupid games, win stupid prizes.
Not paying the ransom would have been tantamount to complete dissolution of the company. it would have tirggered a much wider investigation into the company with shareholders abandoning it as the outage dragged on at the hands of an incompetent leadership.
Unfortunately it seems to have been a Pyrrhic victory as paying the ransom puts their shareholders at risk of serious sanctions and indictment from the US Dept. of the Treasury.
Not paying the ransom would have been tantamount to complete dissolution of the company. it would have tirggered a much wider investigation into the company with shareholders abandoning it as the outage dragged on at the hands of an incompetent leadership.
Unfortunately it seems to have been a Pyrrhic victory as paying the ransom puts their shareholders at risk of serious sanctions and indictment from the US Dept. of the Treasury.
https://home.treasury.gov/system/files/126/ofac_ransomware_a...