An interesting thing happened on the internet with week. U.S. travel management firm was hit with Ragnar Locker ransomware. The company agreed to pay and handed over $4.5 mln in bitcoin https://reut.rs/3jXvpRY 

But the online chat room where the ransom negotiations took place was left online, giving a rare and *incredibly* interesting insight into how these things actually go down

The hackers initially demanded a $10 mln ransom. What ensued was lots of haggling and discussion of discounts

Personally I was surprised at how professional and collegial the whole conversation was. From beginning to end, this was treated a business transaction for both parties

After the ransom was paid, the attackers even provided some bonus security advice!

I really like suggested best staffing practices

"It's a pleasure to work with professionals."

One of the last messages is the hackers offering to wipe the contents of the chat. It was not deleted.