'The Ransomware Hunting Team' tracks the rise of cybercrime and the fight to solve it

NPR's Book of the Day

NPR

Books, Arts

4.2 • 672 Ratings

🗓️ 14 February 2023

⏱️ 12 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Here & Now's Scott Tong describes ransomware as "a high-tech version of kidnapping." It's when a computer or tech system is hacked and money is demanded in order to get it back. In their new book, The Ransomware Hunting Team, ProPublica journalists Renee Dudley and Daniel Golden chronicle how ransomware has grown from individual attacks to large-scale operations against major corporations, universities and hospitals. But as they vividly explain to Tong, there's also a band of coding vigilantes who are helping ransomware victims regain access ... without paying up.

See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.

NPR Privacy Policy

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Hi, I'm Linda Holmes. It's NPR's Book of the Day. Even if you're pretty savvy about online scams and computer security threats, ransomware can sound pretty terrifying. That's where hackers break into a computer system and block people or companies or hospitals or cities from accessing their systems until they pay a ransom.
0:24.4	Renee Dudley and Daniel Golden, both pro-Publica reporters, wrote a book about people who try
0:29.5	to shut down these threats, and they do it for free. The book is called The Ransomware Hunting
0:34.8	Team, and the authors told here and now's Scott Tong about some of the
0:39.5	complexities of good guys and bad guys in this very complicated world.
0:44.6	In the U.S., national security news can feel far away from daily life.
0:49.4	Distant wars, murky conflicts, diplomacy behind closed doors on our our new show, Sources and Methods.
0:55.9	NPR reporters on the ground bring you stories of real people,
0:59.7	helping you understand why distant events matter here at home.
1:03.6	Listen to sources and methods on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts.
1:09.4	You may have heard of a high-tech version of kidnapping around the world.
1:13.3	Hackers sneak into a computer system and lock away essential data until they get paid a ransom.
1:18.9	It's called ransomware.
1:20.8	The cyber bad guys have hit big corporations, hospitals, and as you may remember, the colonial
1:26.0	pipeline last year.
1:27.2	On May 7, 2021, one of the largest refined fuel pipelines in the United States, hospitals, and as you may remember, the Colonial Pipeline last year.
1:32.2	On May 7, 2021, one of the largest refined fuel pipelines in the United States,
1:37.1	the Colonial Pipeline, experienced a cyber attack that shut down fuel delivery between the Gulf coast and the East Coast. The pipeline itself spans almost 5,500 miles and carries millions
1:44.0	of gallons of fuel per day.
1:45.7	It was the target of ransomware.
1:47.8	The pipeline company paid more than $4 million to get its data back and turn the flow of oil back on.
1:54.5	Overall, ransomware cost victims an estimated $20 billion last year.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from NPR, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of NPR and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.