The “cyber negotiator“, in cases of ransomware attacks, is one of the most requested figures in recent times to negotiate with cybercriminals. Considering the latest ransomware attacks, a new attack strategy was found that is no longer random as in the past, but carefully designed to target specific objectives and maximize profits. For this reason, especially in the cyber world, it is necessary to train more and more new figures, including that of the ransomware negotiator with the specific task not so much focused on paying the ransom, but rather aimed at optimizing reaction times in the attempt to reduce as far as possible the losses determined by the situation.
For this reason, those negotiation skills, useful to understand not only the claims of the cybercriminal and his position about a possible negotiation, but also possible effective and decisive strategies are increasingly required, since the psychological and economic burden in certain
situations is really high: you can’t entrust a negotiation for a ransomware attack to any one. Therefore, specific behavioral characteristics and appropriate skills are necessary: lucidity, detachment, emotional intelligence, empathy but above all method, represent some of the essential skills for a negotiation. Understood the important combination of the human and technological factors, it’s important not to forget an important lesson: in case of a crisis, whatever it may be, it is mainly the human factor that has to be managed through the support of technological elements and not vice versa.