The Ransom Is the Smallest Line Item

Ransomware is framed as a business-level crisis, not just a technical incident: modern operations combine encryption with data theft and extortion (including triple extortion), producing operational, financial, regulatory, and reputational damage. Boards must quantify ransomware exposure in financial terms, validate recovery capabilities under realistic conditions, and establish shared accountability across the C-suite rather than leaving the problem solely to the CISO.