Free Republic

WASHINGTON—A post on a hacker forum popular with cybercriminals has claimed UnitedHealth Group paid $22 million in a bid to recover access to data and systems encrypted by the “Blackcat” ransomware gang, according to two researchers. Neither UnitedHealth nor the hackers involved have commented on the alleged ransom payment, but a cryptocurrency tracing firm partially corroborated the claim on Monday. It is not uncommon for large companies that have been victimized by ransomware gangs to decide to pay the hackers to regain control of their networks, especially in instances where a significant disruption to customers and partners occurred. The forum...

With no warning, when I plugged it in, (does run on external power) I got message "disk must be formatted". I took it to my local guy and he quoted $60 - $90 if data can be recovered. Did a quick search and see "free" software listed for data recovery, but I am leery and seek input on what my best course is. There is nothing actually vital on it. But, I have maybe 200 GB of music that I have recorded from my singing groups that I would rather not lose. And I would rather keep my money in...

Hewlett-Packard, IBM, SunGard Data Systems and other companies have been working with dozens of Gulf Coast businesses to keep their computer systems running in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, but the service companies say many were unprepared for the disaster. IBM, which has about 100 disaster recovery clients in the hurricane-ravaged region, said last week that dozens of affected companies had switched on backup networks and data centers in Big Blue facilities as far away as Boulder, Colo. HP's disaster recovery clients are working mainly out of the company's Alpharetta, Ga., offices. A few clients also requested mobile trailers complete...