Ransomware and Cyber Extortion: Response and Prevention

Afterword

Cyber extortion attacks are a symptom of a much bigger problem: Our society’s technology infrastructure is permeated by weaknesses and vulnerabilities, which adversaries exploit on a regular basis. Much of the time, adversaries remain invisible, lurking undetected in victims’ systems. Their crimes may be silent—quietly stealing data, selling access on the dark web, or leveraging their foothold to compromise more organizations. Even when these crimes are detected, victims rarely report them to authorities, choosing instead to keep quiet and avoid the potential shame and liability of a breach.

In a perverse way, cyber extortionists have done us a favor. By making the problem visible, they have incentivized investment in solutions. Never ...