Description

Cybercrime is everywhere. A multibillion-pound industry run by wily hackers and fraudsters. Bankrupting business, stalling governments, stealing sensitive data. Your turn could come any day now. Are you ready?

‘Brilliant, original and authoritative. An extraordinary book that will change the way you think about ransomware and the digital ecosystems that surround us’ PETER FRANKOPAN, bestselling author of THE SILK ROADS

‘A fascinating book about one of the great scourges of the modern world’ OLIVER BULLOUGH, bestselling author of MONEYLAND

You’ve heard the stories. Frozen IT systems, error codes everywhere, a pulsating pop-up threat: pay up, or lose everything. With new attacks hitting the headlines every day, ransomware is recognised as a serious threat to global security and the economy, yet it remains a slippery and little understood phenomenon.

From a leading expert in illicit trading, We Know You Can Pay a Million spotlights the criminal underworld where organised groups trade stolen information and cryptocurrencies, and reveals the fascinating hidden histories of the superhackers whose activities have potentially catastrophic consequences for us all.

Publisher Review

Fascinating… Anja Shortland is an excellent guide to the hidden paths and secret passages of our economy — Oliver Bullough, bestselling author of MONEYLAND A gripping exploration of ransomware’s rise from curiosity to catastrophe. Blends the human stories behind the malware with actionable insights into reducing our collective vulnerability — Sir David Omand, author of HOW TO SURVIVE A CRISIS Spellbinding and illuminating… We Know You Can Pay a Million is a book that every public official, business leader, and concerned citizen should read * Edward Fishman, author of CHOKEPOINTS * A page-turning true-crime account of ransomware’s rise, rich with human detail and head-spinning figures, technically precise and historically deep — Thomas Rid, author of ACTIVE MEASURES Completely engrossing and extremely well informed — John Kay, author of THE CORPORATION IN THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY A fascinating and frightening description of how a largely unregulated system can be used to parasitise the legitimate economy. There is stuff in here that will keep you awake at night — Dan Davies, author of THE UNACCOUNTABILITY MACHINE Lucid, entertaining… An eye-opening look at a shadowy underworld * Publishers Weekly * Shortland takes us into the world of hacking and ransomware as nobody has done so far. This compelling and illuminating book is a must read — Federico Varese, author of MAFIA LIFE and RUSSIA IN FOUR CRIMINALS An expert on extortive crime, Shortland tells the story of ransomware through the fascinating characters that inhabit this criminal ecosystem-its facilitators and its challengers. This is a ripping read that gives readers the insights and tools to make themselves safer from cybercrime — Peter Leeson, author of THE INVISIBLE HOOK