Ransomware gangs don't just go for the big fish. Kareem grew up on the West Side of Chicago in a neighbourhood woven with a pattern of guns, drugs and violence; until Lincoln College - a tiny place, one of the US's only Predominantly Black Institutions - turns his life around. But in December 2021, ransomware comes to town. Plus: Katie meets Barack Obama's ex-Special Advisor for Cybersecurity, who finally untangles the question that's been bugging her...why Russia? Is the post-Cold War era over? In this brave new world, nothing is too small, or big, to be digitalised…including acts of war. Russian ransomware attacks almost doubled last year. At this very moment, cybercriminals are crippling schools, supermarkets, dentists, kindergartens, hospitals, oil pipelines - all in the name of money. Katie Puckrik wants to know who, and why. Audio credits: WLCN 96.3 FM, Lincoln, Illinois; 'Save LC Archive' Facebook group 'I Bleed Purple' videos; LCTV 'Lincoln College vs Governors State 11/13/2021'. You can binge the whole series now and ad-free by subscribing to the Crowd Stories channel on Apple Podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Psychological pressure...that's what ransomware is all about. Holiday weekends and Fridays are prime time for ransomware attacks, and on Friday 2nd July 2021 Robert Cioffi was looking forward to celebrating Independence Day with his family. But soon he'd be caught up in the biggest single ransomware attack to date, that would have a disastrous domino effect on up to 2000 businesses worldwide: kindergartens in New Zealand, dental practices in the US, supermarkets in Sweden. Is the post-Cold War era over? In this brave new world, nothing is too small, or big, to be digitalised…including acts of war. Russian ransomware attacks almost doubled last year. At this very moment, cybercriminals are crippling schools, supermarkets, dentists, kindergartens, hospitals, oil pipelines - all in the name of money. Katie Puckrik wants to know who, and why. You can binge the whole series now and ad-free by subscribing to the Crowd Stories channel on Apple Podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's not just cybercriminals who hack. In February 2022 Russia invades Ukraine, and a few months later someone leaks 60,000 private messages from one of the world's most complex, ruthless and profitable Russian ransomware gangs, alongside a post 'Glory to Ukraine!' The findings - what they reveal about who these hackers are, how they recruit, and how they choose victims - are incendiary. Is the post-Cold War era over? In this brave new world, nothing is too small, or big, to be digitalised…including acts of war. Russian ransomware attacks almost doubled last year. At this very moment, cybercriminals are crippling schools, supermarkets, dentists, kindergartens, hospitals, oil pipelines - all in the name of money. Katie Puckrik wants to know who, and why. You can binge the whole series now and ad-free by subscribing to the Crowd Stories channel on Apple Podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You'd think healthcare would be a no-go. You'd hope that, surely, even Russian cybercriminals have their moral boundaries. But you have no idea the lengths they'll go to for money. This is the story of how the world's oldest maternity hospital, Dublin's Rotunda Hospital, was crippled with a single email and forced to revert to pens and paper. Is the post-Cold War era over? In this brave new world, nothing is too small, or big, to be digitalised…including acts of war. Russian ransomware attacks almost doubled last year. At this very moment, cybercriminals are crippling schools, supermarkets, dentists, kindergartens, hospitals, oil pipelines - all in the name of money. Katie Puckrik wants to know who, and why. You can binge the whole series now and ad-free by subscribing to the Crowd Stories channel on Apple Podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

From the makers of dot com: Redditland, this is dot com: The Hacking. Out on Tuesday 26th July. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices