Bart Schermer on how to negotiate with cybercriminals
Hackers have got their hands on data from the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB). Lockbit, a collective of cybercriminals, is after the money. What now?
The fact that the hackers only have limited data – KNVB staff can continue working as internal systems, such as email, are still functioning – is helpful for the outcome of the negotiations, says professor of privacy & cybercrime Bart Schermer in Dutch newspaper Trouw. He also says the KNVB can negotiate over the price, which he estimates at around 2 per cent of their annual turnover.
Schermer: ‘Hackers usually take a calculated approach. (…) They consider the financial position of the victim, the sensitivity of the information, and how much time the hack takes. Parties such as Lockbit will negotiate depending on those aspects.’
The moment of truth will arrive on 26 April, 19.42: that is when the deadline given to the KNVB expires. If the KNVB does not pay, the cybercriminals will leak the stolen data.
Find out more?
LRead the full article (in Dutch) in Trouw (€)
Photo: Jefferson Santos via Unsplash.