State & Local Government Policy, Business and Technology

How free software tools fit into the modern cyber theater

Fifth Domain: When Boston was inundated with ransomware attacks in 2016, the local FBI office was at a loss for solutions when business owners called in a panic. The FBI already had their hands full with terrorism investigations and lacked the manpower to track down the culprits.

Federal agents basically told the business owners to give in. Joseph Bonavolonta, a then-assistant special agent in charge at FBI’s cyber and counterintelligence program in Boston, told attendees at a 2015 cybersecurity summit that his office was overwhelmed with ransomware reports. “To be honest, we often advise people just to pay the ransom,” he said at the conference, according to SecurityLedger.com.

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