Luta Security and Emsisoft discuss how to fight ransomware at Disrupt

Ransomware is an exponentially growing global threat. Here are just a few examples from 2022: Costa Rica declared a national emergency after a $20 million ransomware attack; ransomware caused one of the biggest U.S. health data breaches; and ransomware topped CSO’s list of nine hot cybersecurity trends.

To hammer the point home, 14 of the 16 critical infrastructure sectors in the U.S. experienced ransomware attacks during 2021, according to a February 2022 report from the Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency.

The urgent threat ransomware presents is why we’re excited to announce that Katie Moussouris, the founder and CEO at Luta Security, and Brett Callow, a threat analyst at Emsisoft, will join us onstage at TechCrunch Disrupt on October 18–20 in San Francisco.

In a conversation called “Winning the war on ransomware,” Moussouris and Callow will talk about why ransomware is escalating at such an alarming rate, define what “winning the war” looks like, and share what startup founders need to know — and what steps they can take — to protect their customers and their business.

A self-described computer hacker with more than 20 years of professional cybersecurity experience, Moussouris has a distinct perspective on security research, vulnerability disclosure, bug bounties and incident response. She serves in three advisory roles for the U.S. government as a member of the Cyber Safety Review Board, the Information Security and Privacy Advisory Board, and the Information Systems Technical Advisory Committee.

Moussouris worked with the U.S. Department of Defense where she led the launch of Hack the Pentagon, the government’s first bug bounty program. During her tenure with Microsoft, she worked on initiatives such as Microsoft’s bug bounty programs and Microsoft Vulnerability Research.

Moussouris serves as an advisor to the Center for Democracy and Technology, and she is also a cybersecurity fellow at New America and the National Security Institute.

A Vancouver Island–based threat analyst for cybersecurity company Emsisoft, Brett Callow lives life with an ear to the ground, monitoring emerging cyberthreat trends and developments.

Emsisoft, a partner in Europol’s No More Ransom project, has worked on some of the most high-profile ransomware incidents of recent years to help companies and individuals avoid hundreds of millions of dollars in ransom demands.

TechCrunch Disrupt takes place on October 18–20 in San Francisco. Buy your pass now and save up to $1,100. Student, government and nonprofit passes are available for just $295. Prices increase September 16.

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