Pentagon may cancel JEDI contract and 'start over'
The Pentagon could be set to cancel the $10 billion JEDI contract it awarded to Microsoft in October 2019.
Read More
Blog
- Home /
- Blog
Here's why paying ransomware hackers might actually not be that bad
Even as the FBI is actively discouraging ransomware victims to not pay cyber tormentors, the US Government may indirectly be incentivizing the payments by treating them as tax deductible.
Several tax lawyers and accountants told the Associated Press that while the US’ Internal Revenue Service (IRS) doesn’t have a separate guidance on ransomware, the victims can claim these as an “ordinary and necessary” business expense.
“I would counsel a client to take a deduction for it,” corporate tax attorney with Alston & Bird, Scott Harty, told the Associated Press.
- These are the best ransomware protection tools
- Here's our choice of the best malware removal software on the market
- Check our list of the best firewall apps and services
Don Williamson, a tax professor at the Kogod School of Business at American University, wrote a paper about the tax consequences of ransomware payments in 2017, and agrees that the growing number of ransomware attacks have indeed helped businesses claim the payments as ordinary business expenses.
Not a solution
FBI Director Christopher Wray recently testified before Congress, reaffirming the agency’s position that businesses should not give in to the demands of their attackers.
Despite this, Neustar recently discovered that over half of the attacked businesses would simply pay their attackers and regain control of their networks, instead of prolonging the downtime, which could have a detrimental effect down the supply chain depending on the nature of their business.
Furthermore, in addition to the guidance from the law enforcement agencies, a section of cybersecurity experts have long discouraged the payments, arguing that these only embolden the criminals and lead to more ransomware attacks.
This was underlined by the recent Cybereason survey, which revealed that over 80% of victims that pay the ransom are targeted again, often by the same ransomware operators.
But the tax deduction now emerges as another incentive, which although not very well-known, nor regularly exercised, indirectly neutralizes the guidance and recommendations of law enforcement agencies and security experts.
- Protect your devices with these best antivirus software
Date
21 Jun 2021Sources
Other Blog
-
-
New open-source Facebook tool hopes to find security flaws in Android apps
Facebook open-sources a static analyzer that it uses internally to find security holes in Android apps.
Read More -
These are the Windows 10 versions Microsoft will soon be killing off
Microsoft has issued another reminder that you’ll need to upgrade within the next month, or face security risks.
Read More -
New Samsung Galaxy Book Pro laptops may include OLED screens and S Pen support
Reports suggest Samsung is working on two Galaxy Book Pro laptops.
Read More
Find Out More About Us
Want to hire best people for your project? Look no further you came to the right place!