To Pay or Not to Pay: Big Question When Hit with Ransomware

This is likely the toughest decision a CISO has to make in their entire career.

Edward Gately, Senior News Editor

May 23, 2022

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To pay or not to pay? That’s the question facing every organization that’s hit with ransomware.

Their data has been encrypted and their business may be at a standstill. Then the inevitable ransom demand arrives.

Do you pay or do you refuse in the hopes of being able to recover and resume business with as little damage as possible? With near-constant ransomware attacks, organizations globally face that question around the clock.

Our cybersecurity roundtable at the 2022 Channel Partners Conference and Expo addressed this topic.

This is the fourth in a series of articles highlighting various topics addressed by the roundtable. The first was on partner stress from the M&A frenzy. The second was on threats and issues beyond ransomware, and the third discussed unprecedented times for cybersecurity channel partners.

Panelists included:

  • Scott Barlow, Sophos‘ vice president of global MSP and cloud alliances.

  • Jon Bove, Fortinet’s vice president of channel sales.

  • Justin Crotty, Netenrich‘s senior vice president of channels.

  • Kristi Houssiere, Trellix‘s senior director of global channel strategy and operations.

  • Matt Lantinga, NTT Application Security‘s vice president of sales and global strategic accounts.

  • Joe Sykora, Proofpoint’s senior vice president of worldwide channels and partner sales.

  • Brian Thomas, Malwarebytes’ vice president of worldwide MSP and channel programs.

See our slideshow above for more from the roundtable on to pay or not to pay ransom.

Want to contact the author directly about this story? Have ideas for a follow-up article? Email Edward Gately or connect with him on LinkedIn.

About the Author

Edward Gately

Senior News Editor, Channel Futures

As senior news editor, Edward Gately covers cybersecurity, new channel programs and program changes, M&A and other IT channel trends. Prior to Informa, he spent 26 years as a newspaper journalist in Texas, Louisiana and Arizona.

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