The Extortion Economy Podcast

ProPublica

December 21, 2021

Ransomware is proliferating across the country, disabling computer systems and harming critical infrastructure — hospitals, city governments, schools, even an oil pipeline. The technology that enables ransomware may be new, but extortion and ransom are not.

So why is this happening now? And can it be stopped?

In this five-part series from MIT Technology Review and ProPublica hosted by Meg Marco, a former ProPublica senior editor, we look at the money, people and technology behind the explosion of ransomware that is delivering hundreds of millions of dollars to cybercriminals around the world.

Trailer

Episode 1

A new-age iteration of the old-age extortion problem: a ransomware vigilante, a piracy (as in actual boats) expert, a school administrator and a kidnapping victim share their experiences.

Episode 2

In an absurd contract, look into the criminal world where the stakes are high but the methods are increasingly businesslike, and meet the people who interact with the ransomware hackers.

Episode 3

After the Colonial Pipeline payment, the FBI followed the money and cybersecurity researchers followed the ransomware group. We followed both.

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