Security News > 2020 > August > 'We stopped ransomware' boasts Blackbaud CEO. And by 'stopped' he means 'got insurance to pay off crooks'
"We discovered and stopped a sophisticated attempted ransomware attack," Blackbaud CEO Michael Gianoni has told financial analysts - failing to mention the company simply paid off criminal extortionists to end the attack.
As we reported, Blackbaud paid a demanded ransom back in May before quietly notifying the world two months later.
On the Friday earnings call Blackbaud CFO Tony Boor added: "We currently don't anticipate any kind of material financial impact for the company. We do have insurance coverage that will come into play here as well."
Industry has increasingly ignored this advice; the availability of cyber insurance policies that pay out on ransom demands removes the largest disincentive from the equation.
Blackbaud at least has one partial excuse: late last year the US Federal Bureau of Investigation relaxed its guidance on paying ransoms to acknowledge that some firms can and will pay up.