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FBI: "Just pay the ransom."

posted by martyb on Thursday October 29 2015, @10:41AM   Printer-friendly
from the backups-just-do-it dept.

Runaway1956 writes:

There is a particularly devious type of malicious software that locks users out of their own computer systems until an individual agrees to pay a ransom to the hackers. In these cases, the FBI has surprisingly suggested just ponying up the dough.

It's not the type of advice one would typically expected from the FBI, but that's exactly what was recommended by Joseph Bonavolonta, the assistant special agent in charge of the FBI's CYBER and Counterintelligence Program Boston office.

"The ransomware is that good," said Bonavolonta at the 2015 Cyber Security Summit in Boston, as quoted by Security Ledger. "To be honest, we often advise people just to pay the ransom."

https://www.rt.com/usa/319913-fbi-pay-ransomware-hackers/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS

Yeah, it's RT, but I did a search, and that or similar headlines popped up on dozens of news sites. I clicked a couple of them, and the stories match. Try this one,
https://thehackernews.com/2015/10/fbi-ransomware-malware.html

Personally, I can almost certainly afford to nuke and reinstall, unless they get my RAID array. Then - I'd have to think hard.

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  • (Score: -1, Flamebait) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 29 2015, @12:07PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 29 2015, @12:07PM (#255975)

    Thanks FBI. I wouldn't be surprised if this was another FBI gig to fund their drug operations. (Manufacturing and selling drugs, that is.)

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  • (Score: 5, Informative) by Ethanol-fueled on Thursday October 29 2015, @02:06PM

    by Ethanol-fueled (2792) on Thursday October 29 2015, @02:06PM (#256018) Homepage

    FBI fund domestic terror operations. Drug-running is the CIA's game.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 29 2015, @04:38PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 29 2015, @04:38PM (#256096)

      FBI fund domestic terror operations.

      I really hope they only fund anti-terror operations. ;-)

      • (Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 29 2015, @07:23PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 29 2015, @07:23PM (#256185)

        You must be new to life. The CIA has a long history of supplying weapons to and training terrorist cells. Taliban, ISIS, etc. And then there's the US's local terrorist organizations, the DEA, TSA, DHS, and NSA. Especially the DEA.