https://www.zdnet.com/article/company-shuts-down-because-of-ransomware-leaves-300-without-jobs-just-before-holidays/?ftag=TRE-03-10aaa6b&bhid=20563615010054021886152894255900
 
An Arkansas-based telemarketing firm sent home more than 300 employees and told them to find new jobs after IT recovery efforts didn't go according to plan following a ransomware incident that took place at the start of October 2019. Employees of Sherwood-based telemarketing firm The Heritage Company were notified of the decision just days before Christmas, via a letter sent by the company's CEO. Speaking with local media, employees said they had no idea the company had even suffered a ransomware attack, and the layoffs were unexpected, catching many off guard. "Unfortunately, approximately two months ago our Heritage servers were attacked by malicious software that basically 'held us hostage for ransom' and we were forced to pay the crooks to get the 'key' just to get our systems back up and running," wrote Sandra Franecke, the company's CEO, in the letter sent to employees. She goes on to say that data recovery efforts, initially estimated at one week, have not gone according to plan and the company had failed to recover full service by Christmas.
 
Franecke said the company lost "hundreds of thousands of dollars" because of the incident and have been forced to "restructure different areas in the company." As a result of the botched ransomware recovery process, the company's leadership decided to suspend all services, leaving more than 300 employees without jobs.
Local news outlet KATV reported last month that dozens of employees already filed for unemployment with local authorities even before the Christmas holiday, with many not expecting the company to survive.
 
I suppose this is a bad way to learn about backups and safeguards. 

bobmitch
Horrible!  Can't fault the company...they are going to lose everything as well!  What a shame...

Totally the fault of the company.  If they had proper backups, this would not be an issue.  But as usual IT spending isn't important to these places.  "If you know the IT peoples names by heart, they aren't doing their job and aren't worth the money, yet if you don't know who your IT people are, why are you paying them as it's obvious you don't need them!" is the attitude these places take.  But the thing is, if you don't know who your IT people are, that means they are doing their job properly.  In an ideal world, you would never see your IT people except for when they want to see you.

 
How about blaming the asshats who did this?
 

The anonymous attacker made money off of a company running their system in an incompetent way.  Meh, it was a telemarketing company anyway.  Good riddance.

bobmitch
Horrible!  Can't fault the company...they are going to lose everything as well!  What a shame...

I fault their lack of off-site backups. Sounds like they needed to die as a company if they can't even be bothered to backup files. Besides, what computer policy did they have in plance that allowed ransomware on their network? That kind of IT security is like running around in the lion cage at the zoo and wondering why the lion ate them.

Cool GTX

Nereus
 
How about blaming the asshats who did this?
 

Without question they are part of the issue ... one can hope they get caught & prosecuted
 
But a technology based company that can't do a system restore of their servers   Points to other issues
 
 
 
 

A lot of these people work from countries with no cyber crime laws or they ask for untraceable Bitcoin that the country they operate out of would say has no real world value since they don't want to legitimize digital currency. I have also heard some countries would require the victim show up in the court room for the trial and that could take traveling halfway around the world.
 
I do think they should face justice but I personally think the company really lacked enough security to prevent the hack and don't like hearing the company paid the money. Who knows what they might have done before unlocking them? I wouldn't be surprised if after the hack everything gets sent to the hackers to look at, phone numbers, customers names, employee records....

aka_STEVE_b
As a general rule - "telemarketers"  are not going to get any sympathy from me .....

 
 
For all we know, the hacker was originally the victim. 

Victorg25
Is the virus software not working?

  what