IT expert Geert Baudewijns has already negotiated with hackers 300 times: “You have to count on a ransom of USD 15,000 for SMEs, and 1 million for a multinational” | Interior

Four to six hacked companies a week: that’s how many knock on Geert Baudewijns’ door these days. As CEO of the specialized IT company Secutec, he is now almost a full-time negotiator with hackers. He also had to deal with Play, the collective that is currently holding the city of Antwerp hostage. “My main task is to get the sum of the ransom down. Because you will pay. For a ‘hostage’ SME, USD 15,000 is already a success, while for a multinational you have to think of USD 1 million.”