On: Report shows HSE (Irish Health Service) hacked by ...

[Xelbair]

Usually the ransom is paid by 3rd party.

Goverment agency hires a contractor for data recovery, the rate is Ransom + flat rate. they just pay the ransom and recover the data.

[paradaux → Xelbair]

The ransom was not paid, to the best of my knowledge, indirectly via a contractor as you stated or directly.

https://www.rte.ie/news/2021/0520/1222857-hse-weekly-briefin...

This is the government-funded news media organisation, akin to the BBC here — but I have sufficient trust that they didn't

[Xelbair → paradaux]

Yeah looks like they did gave them the decryption tool.

I just know quite a lot of cases where non-health related systems were hit with ransomware over here, and that was the route they took to recover the data.