Arlington tech firm launches ransomware negotiation service

GroupSense service includes threat evaluation, engagement, negotiation

Published September 29, 2020 by Sydney Lake

Arlington-based threat intelligence company GroupSense on Tuesday launched a new service to help companies dealing with ransomware attacks.

The ransomware negotiation service will allow GroupSense to help during the negotiation process with hackers. During ransomware attacks, rogue software can block access to programs and data until a payment is made to hackers.

“Enterprises need to take a more sophisticated approach to ransomware – most victims wind up suffering far more damage than is necessary, whether by overpaying threat actors, incurring brand damage and compliance violations from online data dumps or spending extended periods of time with no access to their critical data,” GroupSense co-founder and CEOKurtis Minder said in a statement.

Services will include threat evaluation, threat actor engagement, ransomware negotiation and post-transaction services. GroupSense will evaluate attacks for legitimacy, verify the claims of the threat actor, negotiate ransomware demands and monitor the threat actor to prevent repeat attacks, among other offerings.

“Many companies turn to their cybersecurity partners for help, but very few of those organizations have experienced ransomware negotiators and strategists who know the history of various threat actors and can effectively negotiate with them,” Minder said in a statement. “Fewer still can provide comprehensive plans for mitigating the potential business damage caused by these attacks, which can include losing data, compliance violations, sabotaging customer relationships and degrading corporate reputation.”

Founded in 2014, GroupSense provides services including dark web monitoring, ransomware negotiation, threat investigations, social media monitoring, intel as a service and third party risk to enterprise, government and law enforcement agency customers.