## Yank Bank Trusts Hackers with Their Dirty Laundry
### Bank’s Unique Strategy: Trust the Baddies
Would you place your faith in a ransomware thug to dispose of the data they pilfered? River Financial Corporation appears to believe that’s a brilliant strategy. More than a month into their ransomware struggle, they informed regulators that they “took steps to attempt to suppress the affected data, including obtaining representations from the threat actor that it deleted the data in its possession.” Yes, you heard that correctly. They genuinely trust the criminals!
### Lessons from the Past: Crooks Aren’t Saints
Now, let’s examine history, shall we? When global law enforcement dismantled LockBit in 2024, they discovered that those hackers retained the victim data even after the ransom was settled. Shocker, right? These River Bank individuals didn’t disclose whether they actually forked over any money to these miscreants, but history indicates these criminals aren’t famed for their philanthropy, if you catch my drift.
### Keeping Mum and Lawsuits Galore
GadgetLad reached out to River Bank for a quick chat but, predictably, they kept tight-lipped. They initially revealed their cyber conundrum to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on June 16. It turns out, ransomware had latched onto parts of their servers. They employed the time-honored unplug method, took the systems offline, and summoned experts to assess the total damage. By July 10, they realized the data had vanished, and two class action lawsuits were knocking on their door. Just a week later, the number climbed to four. Good grief!
### Investigation Incomplete: What Lies Ahead?
River’s still pondering what transpired precisely, as stated in their latest filing, and have yet to delineate the full extent and repercussions of the attack.
## Summary: Trusting Thieves – A Novel Business Plan?
If you seek a tutorial on addressing a cyber incident, this isn’t it. Trusting the baddies to act honorably is akin to asking a cat to guard the cream. You might end up knee-deep in lawsuits!
