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Random freezes, missing sound and display glitches usually trace back to one bad driver. Find and replace yours safely.Free scan · under a minuteUsually, no—not as a first response. U.S. federal guidance discourages paying because a ransom does not guarantee working file recovery, end of attacker access, or protection from data exposure. First contain the incident, preserve evidence, report it, assess clean recovery options, and get qualified technical and legal advice. Whether an organization ultimately pays is a high-stakes decision with no universal formula.
Will paying ransomware get your files back?
Not necessarily. The FBI, CISA, and MS-ISAC state in their March 2025 joint Medusa ransomware advisory: “The FBI, CISA, and MS-ISAC do not encourage paying ransom as payment does not guarantee victim files will be recovered.” A criminal may fail to provide a working decryptor, and paying does not establish that the attacker has removed access or deleted information already copied.
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Ransomware can involve more than encrypted files. Attackers may steal data and threaten to publish it—a tactic often called double extortion—or make disclosure threats without encrypting systems. Payment therefore cannot be treated as proof that operations are safe or that private data will remain private. The CISA, MS-ISAC, NSA, and FBI #StopRansomware Guide likewise says its authors “do not recommend paying ransom.”
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Act through your incident response plan rather than improvising. If this is a business or public service, assign an incident lead and coordinate technical, legal, communications, and operational decisions. Avoid discussing the incident on systems that may be monitored by the attacker.
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- To get set up, connect the portable hard drive to a computer for automatic recognition no software required
- This USB drive provides plug and play simplicity with the included 18 inch USB 3.0 cable
- The available storage capacity may vary.
- Contain the incident in a coordinated way. Isolate affected devices or network segments in consultation with responders. Preserve relevant logs and other evidence; do not wipe or rebuild systems before responders assess what should be retained.
- Bring in qualified help. Contact incident-response professionals and counsel promptly, particularly if the incident involves regulated data, essential services, safety risks, or possible sanctions exposure.
- Establish the scope. Determine which systems are encrypted, whether data may have been copied, which accounts or credentials are compromised, whether the attacker may retain access, and what service or safety impacts are occurring.
- Check recovery and continuity options. Assess backup integrity, clean restoration paths, and continuity arrangements. Restore only after responders have evaluated containment and the cleanliness of the systems and backups. CISA’s guide includes response and prevention practices; following it cannot guarantee recovery.
- Report promptly. The March 2025 joint advisory urges victims to report to FBI IC3, a local FBI field office, or CISA, regardless of whether they pay. Follow applicable reporting requirements in your jurisdiction and sector as well.
- Pause for reviews before any payment decision. Get current legal advice on sanctions, reporting, privacy, regulatory and contractual duties, and insurance terms. Do not assume an insurer, negotiator, exchange, or attacker has resolved those issues for you.
How to compare payment with recovery
There is no official scorecard that can calculate the right answer for every victim, and official guidance does not establish a universal payment-versus-recovery formula or a reliable probability that paying will restore operations. Compare the choices using facts about this incident and judgments about its consequences:
- Recovery: How quickly and reliably can clean backups or other continuity arrangements restore essential operations?
- Impact of delay: What would downtime mean for safety, critical services, employees, customers, or other people who depend on the organization?
- Data exposure: Is there evidence that data was copied, and what harm or obligations could follow from disclosure?
- Persistence: What access might the attacker still have, and how will responders identify and remove it?
- Legal and business duties: What sanctions, reporting, privacy, regulatory, contractual, and insurance issues apply?
- Broader consequences: What is the risk that payment will support criminal activity or encourage more attacks?
The FBI, CISA, and MS-ISAC warn that paying may encourage attacks on additional organizations, encourage more criminal actors, or fund illicit activity. Those wider harms belong in the decision alongside the victim’s immediate operational needs.
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- To get set up, connect the portable hard drive to a computer for automatic recognition software required
- This USB drive provides plug and play simplicity with the included 18 inch USB 3.0 cable
- The available storage capacity may vary.
Why sanctions and legal review matter in the United States
In the United States, a transaction involving a designated or blocked person may be prohibited under sanctions rules, and payment facilitators may also face exposure. The U.S. Treasury’s 2021 advisory on potential sanctions risks for facilitating ransomware payments identifies reporting and cooperation with authorities as mitigating considerations if a sanctions nexus is found; it is not blanket permission to pay. Sanctions and reporting rules can change, so consult current official guidance and qualified counsel before any transaction.
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This article focuses primarily on U.S. guidance. It does not determine whether a payment is lawful or reportable in another country, state, sector, or under a particular contract. Local rules and obligations need separate review.
Rank #3
- Easily store and access 1TB to content on the go with the Seagate Portable Drive, a USB external hard drive.Specific uses: Personal
- Designed to work with Windows or Mac computers, this external hard drive makes backup a snap just drag and drop. Reformatting may be required for Mac
- To get set up, connect the portable hard drive to a computer for automatic recognition no software required
- This USB drive provides plug and play simplicity with the included 18 inch USB 3.0 cable
- The available storage capacity may vary.
What to prepare before an incident
Keep an incident response plan, tested restoration procedures, and backup arrangements that are protected from compromise. The CISA guide discusses backup preparedness, including offline backups such as an external hard drive where appropriate to an organization’s design and security practices. A backup is useful only if it is protected, current enough for the organization’s needs, and restorable.
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- Easily store and access 4TB of content on the go with the Seagate Portable Drive, a USB external hard drive.Specific uses: Personal
- Designed to work with Windows or Mac computers, this external hard drive makes backup a snap just drag and drop
- To get set up, connect the portable hard drive to a computer for automatic recognition no software required
- This USB drive provides plug and play simplicity with the included 18 inch USB 3.0 cable
- The available storage capacity may vary.
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