Arete Incident Response Revolutionizes Cybersecurity with specialized Ransomware Mitigation
In the digital age, a single Cyberattack can bring a multi-billion dollar corporation to its knees in minutes. When entire infrastructures are encrypted by ransomware and businesses find themselves "dead in the water," the first call isn't just to the IT department—it's to the insurance carrier, who then calls Arete Incident Response. Behind this global defense line is Raj Sivaraju, a serial entrepreneur and former Deloitte CIO who has mastered the art of high-stakes crisis management.
From digitizing manual blueprints in the early 90s to leading an 1,800-person operation at Deloitte, Raj’s journey is a masterclass in adaptation. Today, at Arete, he oversees a team of 250 elite professionals—including former FBI and CIA agents—who negotiate with threat actors and restore business operations across the globe.
"Entrepreneurs usually are people who are ready to do what it takes," Raj says. "It doesn't matter what it is, but they're ready to do what it takes to make things work."
The Anatomy of a Cyber Crisis
Arete operates in a high-pressure niche that few others in India possess the depth to handle. When a ransomware attack hits, the impact is catastrophic. Arete serves as the "first line of defense," moving beyond standard antivirus alerts into deep forensic investigation and business restoration.
The Arete Defensive Stack
- Identification: Rapidly identifying the specific malware variant used in the attack.
- Reverse Engineering: Deconstructing the malware to understand how to bypass or decrypt it.
- Restoration: Rebuilding the infrastructure and bringing the business back online.
- Negotiation: Engaging directly with threat actors in their native languages (Russian, Italian, etc.) to facilitate ransom payouts when decryption is impossible and urgency is paramount.
What makes Arete unique is its cultural and linguistic depth. "We have people from the FBI and CIA working for us... people who understand and talk Russian, Italian... so that they can talk to threat actors, negotiate, and resolve the situation for our clients," Raj explains. This specialized capability, backed by insurance carriers, makes Arete an indispensable partner in the global cybersecurity ecosystem.
The "Aha" Moment: From Video Games to SabRentKaro
Raj’s entrepreneurial path is as diverse as it is resilient. Before joining Arete, he spent 16 years at Deloitte, rising to the level of Partner and CIO. However, hitting a "glass ceiling" led him back to his entrepreneurial roots. The inspiration for his next venture, SabRentKaro, came from an unlikely source: his son.
When his son suggested an online platform to exchange video games with friends rather than buying new ones monthly, Raj saw a massive opportunity for the sharing economy. "Imagine if we could create a platform where people can exchange their underutilized assets and monetize on top of it," he thought. SabRentKaro eventually scaled to 4,300 rentals per month, offering everything from laptops to private jets, before the COVID-19 pandemic forced a strategic pivot.
The Human Element: Empathy and Compromise
Despite his technical background, Raj defines himself primarily as a "people person." Having built teams as large as 1,800 people, he identifies two critical words for successful management: Empathy and Compromise.
The Sivaraju Leadership Mantra
- Trust through Compromise: Realize that relationships are about taking the higher road. "When you compromise, you are saying 'I am going to trust you'... that is how you build a strong relationship."
- Lead with Empathy: Don't just demand performance; understand why someone is acting the way they are. Putting yourself in their shoes yields faster and better results.
- Surround Yourself with Smarts: "Nine out of ten times, you should look for someone who is smarter than you." A leader's job is to navigate the environment, not to be the most technical person in the room.
Raj warns that being at the top can be "lonely," but mental strength and resilience are the tools that keep a leader afloat. "End of the day, the buck stops with you. If you're not strong mentally, being an entrepreneur can become very taxing."
Lessons for the Resilient Entrepreneur
For those navigating the volatile world of startups and corporate leadership, Raj offers timeless advice: Never take success for granted.
— Raj Sivaraju, President APJ, Arete
Whether it's the "Jugaad" (adapt and adopt) required in multinational environments or the grit needed to build a first-generation business from scratch, Raj Sivaraju's career demonstrates that the most powerful asset an entrepreneur has isn't code—it's character.
About the Guest
Raj Sivaraju is the President of APAC at Arete Incident Response and the Founder of SabRentKaro. A veteran of the IT industry, he previously served as the CIO for Deloitte U.S. in India, where he managed a massive 1,800-person operation. With a career spanning over three decades, Raj has navigated major industrial shifts from the birth of digitization to the current era of advanced cybersecurity. He is a recognized expert in talent nurturing, high-stakes negotiation, and scaling global technology operations.