Dark Screens: Hackers and Heroes in the Shadowy World of Ransomware

Ransomware attacks are a surreal hybrid of criminal endeavor and legitimate business pursuit, according to this intricate exposé. Economist Shortland (Kidnap) traces the rise of such virtual heists, wherein hackers remotely take over computers, encrypt their data, and demand a ransom for a decryption key to unlock the system (or, sometimes, to refrain from publishing sensitive information gleaned from the computer files). Shortland explores the clever ways hackers have innovated their work, such as automating the attacks on a massive scale or franchising them to hundreds of “affiliates,” as well as the odd challenges they face: the hackers often have to teach their victims how to use cryptocurrency to pay the ransom; guide them through decrypting and rebooting their own systems; and, ironically, build up a reputation for honesty and integrity, so that businesses believe their ransoms will buy decryption keys that actually restore their computers. Shortland also profiles the cottage industry of “crisis responders” that has grown up to negotiate these agreements, not all of whom are white knights. Some companies, she notes, promise to decrypt computers without paying ransom, then pay the ransom out of their fee—and get a discount from the criminals. Throughout, Shortland teases out these convoluted developments—part cops vs. robbers arms race, part host-parasite symbiosis—in lucid, entertaining prose. It’s an eye-opening look at a shadowy underworld. (Apr.)