Ransomware: „Der schlimmste Fehler ist ein CEO, der fragt: Wie zahle ich?“
Cyber-Attacken legen ganze Produktionen lahm und treffen zunehmend auch den Mittelstand. Zwei Experten erklären, wie Firmen mit Erpressern verhandeln sollten – und sich besser schützen können.
In Zug, ransomware - a form of extortion software - is increasingly recognized as one of the biggest business risks, particularly for German small and medium-sized enterprises. According to the Federal Ministry of the Interior, there were 1,041 reported ransomware attacks in 2025, marking a 10% increase from the previous year. In such an attack, criminals encrypt entire IT systems and demand a ransom - often in the form of Bitcoin, frequently accompanied by the threat of releasing previously stolen data.
The question arises: how can companies defend themselves against this threat? How can they regain control in such a situation? And what mistakes are particularly costly in the initial hours? These are the questions addressed by crisis negotiators Michael Sjøberg, formerly specialized in Danish military hostage situations, and Peter Skovbo, founder of the Swiss consultancy Delta Crisis, in an interview. Mr. Sjøberg, what typically goes wrong when a company calls you during a cyber attack?
Written by urgent.news from Handelsblatt's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — it may contain errors, so check the original before relying on it.
