Cheapskates Wouldn't Pay for Security Help, Got Hit by Ransomware, and Went Bust Months Later
The Register, Thursday, October 8th, 2026
The Register's PWNED column: a small firm that refused security help was hit by ransomware and failed months later.
In The Register's weekly PWNED column on corporate security lowlights, Intrust IT consultant Dave Hatter shares two stories.
In one, a small construction company's new CFO wanted to hire Intrust, but the owner vetoed it, believing his business was too small to interest hackers and his one-person IT staff, a relative's acquaintance, was enough.
The company was later hit by ransomware and went out of business months afterward, while the second story shows how good defenses held up against a determined phishing campaign.