Better to Pay a Ransom Than Lose Data

The Swiss defense contractor RUAG paid a ransom to the cyberhackers known as Akira after the hackers stole data from its subsidiary Mecanex in the U.S. and encrypted it “securely.” Although the Swiss Federal Office for Cybersecurity and other IT experts warned against it, RUAG paid the ransom. RUAG Board Chairman Jürg Rötheli reported on SRF’s “Samstagsrundschau”: “We paid — a small amount, fortunately — and got all the data back.”

The Swiss Ministry of Defense (VBS; Federal Department of Defense, Civil Protection, and Sports) was not pleased that it had not been informed prior to the payment. Here, too, the payment was criticized, “since the Akira group now knows that the Swiss government is willing to pay ransom, which sends a devastating signal.” In 2022, IT security experts from the education and business sectors had recommended measures against ransom payments in an open letter.

Translated with DeepL.com (free version)

Read more https://www.heise.de/news/Schweizer-Ruestungsunternehmen-RUAG-zahlt-Loesegeld-an-Cybergang-11321552.html

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