Ransomware has become an industry of its own with “cordial” customer-service and over $25 Billion in revenue last year. CWT, a large-scale travel organization, was affected by a ransomware attack demanding $10 million to restore stolen information. The company responded swiftly by countering with an offer of $4.5 million over a publicly accessible chat group. This incident was well-documented on various tech outlets.

The hackers not only agreed to the $4.5m deal, but also offered bonus security tips to help prevent this kind of attack. With growing black markets for user data, and organized hackers proliferating globally, ransomware is a thriving industry that presents a very real threat to large and small companies alike.