Ransomware attacks have evolved, and so have the criminals behind them. According to a recent report by The Register titled “Your ransomware nightmare just came true – now what?”, threat actors are increasingly ignoring ransom negotiations altogether.
This disturbing shift shows how outdated our collective response to ransomware has become—and why businesses must rethink their approach to cybersecurity.
The article details a troubling trend: even when victims attempt to negotiate, ransomware gangs are walking away. The old assumption that paying a ransom (or threatening not to) might result in restored files is becoming less reliable. Criminals are using negotiation channels as reconnaissance tools—probing for how much damage they’ve caused and identifying how desperate the victim really is.
Even worse, many attackers are now demanding double extortion: not only do they encrypt your data, but they also threaten to leak it. And if you're in a regulated industry like healthcare, legal, or financial services, that puts you in a regulatory nightmare on top of the technical one.
Why “Detect and Respond” No Longer Works
Traditional cybersecurity models operate on a reactive footing: detect a threat, investigate, respond, recover. But with ransomware actors turning negotiation into a power play, it’s clear that speed matters more than ever—and sometimes even the fastest response is too late.
By the time detection tools sound the alarm, the damage is often already done. Files are encrypted, systems are paralyzed, and the attacker is already several steps ahead. Recovery costs, reputational damage, and legal liabilities can crush small and midsize businesses.
This is where the conventional “Detect and Respond” model fails. Businesses can no longer afford to wait for alerts and play catch-up. Instead, they must stop the attack before it starts.
Isolation and Containment: The Strategy That Works
The only reliable strategy is to prevent malware from executing in the first place. That’s exactly what AppGuard does.
AppGuard doesn’t rely on detecting malware by signature or behavior. Instead, it enforces strict containment policies that isolate and stop malicious processes from ever launching—even those from zero-day attacks or fileless malware. This is a radical departure from traditional endpoint protection, and it’s exactly what’s needed in an era where attackers have learned to manipulate the response cycle to their advantage.
Unlike EDR tools that flood security teams with alerts after a breach has already begun, AppGuard prevents the breach silently, with minimal need for human intervention. No alert fatigue. No panic-mode triage. Just real prevention.
A 10-Year Track Record That’s Now Available to You
AppGuard has quietly protected sensitive systems in classified environments for over a decade. It’s not theoretical. It’s proven. And now, it’s available for commercial use—ready to defend your business against the most advanced ransomware operations in the wild.
Don’t wait for an attacker to hold your data hostage and ignore your attempts to negotiate. The only winning move is not to play their game at all.
Talk With CHIPS Today—Before It’s Too Late
At CHIPS, we’ve seen firsthand how devastating ransomware can be—and how effective AppGuard is at stopping it cold. Let us help you move from “Detect and Respond” to “Isolation and Containment” before you become the next victim.
Contact us today to learn how AppGuard can protect your business from the kinds of attacks that can’t be negotiated with.
If you’re relying on negotiations as a last line of defense, you’re already too late. Let CHIPS show you a better way.
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