Cyber extortion and ransomware attacks made headlines across the globe this summer. In May, the WannaCry virus infected hundreds of thousands of computers worldwide. In June, the NotPetya ransomware attack shut down hundreds of thousands of additional computer systems across the globe. In July, an anonymous hacker who called himself “Mr. Smith” and “Little Finger” claimed to have stolen 1.5 terabytes of confidential information from HBO, including unreleased Game of Thrones episodes, and demanded a multimillion-dollar ransom payment to prevent its release.

Originally published in Risk Management Magazine - December 2017.