Criminal wannabes even more dangerous than the pros, says ex-FBI cyber chief
Summary
An ex-FBI cyber chief, Cynthia Kaiser, now at Halcyon Ransomware Research Center, states that amateur criminals pose a greater threat than professional ones. This is because their lack of skill can lead to data being permanently lost as they may not be able to decrypt it even if ransomed.
IFF Assessment
FOE
Amateur criminals can be more dangerous because their incompetence in handling encrypted data means victims might never recover their stolen information.
Defender Context
Defenders should be aware that less sophisticated attackers can still cause significant damage. The unpredictability of amateur ransomware groups means that data recovery could become impossible, making prevention and robust backups even more critical than usual.