What To Do If You Are A Victim Cybercrime: The Anatomy Of High Profile Incident

Welcome to the latest episode of Razorwire, where we delve into the world of cybersecurity and the challenges faced by experts in the field. Our guests today, Joe Hancock, and Paul Hemmings, work together at Mishcon, and I’m delighted to be able to share their expertise with you today. We’re discussing high profile cybersecurity incidents and how they are handled by the experts. We talk about the best ways to prepare for these incidents and the best approach strategies to handle them along with what to include in your organisation’s procedure. We also discuss the changing tactics of malicious actors and what threats we need to be aware of. We talk about the many motivations behind cybercrime and how to prepare yourself for increasingly complex and strategic attacks from highly organised malicious actors and groups. We also discuss the best practice for the most effective incident response plans. Join us as we explore the world of cybersecurity and the challenges faced by experts in the field.  I always believe that you want to be intelligence-led. To a certain degree, if you're looking for the needle in a haystack, it's good to have a really good idea of what needles look like, to kind of really stretch analogy. Joe Hancock    Listen to this episode on your favourite podcasting platform: https://razorwire.captivate.fm/listen  In this episode, we covered the following topics:  When High Profile Incidents Occur - we discuss the timing of high profile incidents, and what times of the day or year we tend to see the highest number of attacks taking place  Dealing with Crisis Management – in crisis situations, who are the best people and what are the best skill sets to have immediately to hand?   The Business Response – should the way we deal with high profile attacks differ depending on corporate priorities? What has been shown to be effective?  The Importance of a Broad Skill Set – what skills are required when dealing with a cybersecurity incident and how can it help establish a strategy and a plan.  Standard Playbooks and Approaches – why every organisation should have standard playbooks and approaches for different incident types and how to follow the standard model to analyse, contain, eradicate and recover.  Threat Intelligence and Incident Response – we talk about why threat intelligence is essential in informing incident response and the criticality of early access to information.  Dealing with Cyber Criminals – who exactly are we up against? The speakers talk about the different types of cyber criminals, organised and disorganised, and how to approach negotiations and payments, including the use of cryptocurrency.  Malicious Insider Incidents - how do we deal with incidents involving malicious insiders that are still present within the organisation and potentially monitoring the response efforts?  Increasingly Sophisticated Social Engineering - attackers are upping their game in social engineering, targeting individuals using social media – how can we avoid being played?  The rise of organised cyber crime – what we should learn from this  Interactions with cyber criminals – so you’ve been hacked. What’s it like dealing or negotiating with cyber criminals?   Joe tells us about a UK based organised crime group that he’s dealt with on several occasions  High-End War Gaming – what is value of high-end war gaming and how is it used to prepare for high-profile incidents?  C-suite support and decision-making – what is required from the C-suite (and other levels in the organisation) during a cybersecurity incident?  GUEST BIOS  Joe Hancock Joe is a non-lawyer Partner and the Head of MDR Cyber, the cybersecurity and investigations practice at Mishcon de Reya. Joe works across a varied practice of risk management issues from cyber incidents to investigations and asset tracing. His works with clients who need broad risk and crisis management expertise, leaning heavily on his experience as a cyber security specialist.  His experience ranges from crypto-currency tracing, asset recovery investigations or major cyber incidents, combined with deep technology and risk management skills. He has a wide range of expertise in cyber risk and security, data protection, and resilience, and first-hand experience with some of the UK’s largest cyber incidents. Joe is a specialist at the nexus of cyber-security issues and legal responses and is the Head Consultant for our NCSC accredited services.   Paul Hemmings Paul is the Commercial Director for MDR Cyber, within the Mishcon de Reya Litigation Team. He has 25 years commercial experience and domain knowledge from several senior leadership roles held within Private and Public organisations. These have been within the Energy, Defence, Homeland Security, and Unified Communications sectors, and has specialised in cyber security, secure communications and large systems integration services.  He has successfully designed, and implemented growth and client engagement strategies for EMEA, North America and APAC, that have included innovative global partner-alliance programs, contract and framework development, key client account and stakeholder management at Board and C-suite levels.  Resources Mentioned  Mischon de Reya Gartner: 70% of organisations now have a CISO at board level - News  Other episodes you'll enjoy  Trust & Culture as Cornerstones of Cybersecurity with Paul Dwyer https://www.razorthorn.com/trust-culture-as-cornerstones-of-cyber-security-with-paul-dwyer  Cybersecurity and Critical Infrastructure: Are We Prepared for the Worst? https://www.razorthorn.com/critical-infrastructure/  Connect with your host James Rees  Hello, I am James Rees, the host of the Razorwire podcast. This podcast brings you insights from leading cybersecurity professionals who dedicate their careers to making a hacker’s life that much more difficult. Our guests bring you experience and expertise from a range of disciplines and from different career stages. We give you various viewpoints for improving your cybersecurity – from seasoned professionals with years of experience, triumphs and lessons learned under their belt, to those in relatively early stages of their careers offering fresh eyes and new insights. With new episodes every other Wednesday, Razorwire is a podcast for cybersecurity enthusiasts and professionals providing insights, news and fresh ideas on protecting your organisation from hackers. For more information about us or if you have any questions you would like us to discuss email [email protected]. If you need consultation, visit www.razorthorn.com, We give our clients a personalised, integrated approach to information security, driven by our belief in quality and discretion.  Linkedin: Razorthorn Security Youtube: Razorthorn Security Twitter:  @RazorThornLTD Website: www.razorthorn.com  Loved this episode? Leave us a review and rating hereAll rights reserved. © Razorthorn Security LTD 2025