Leaders | Computer security

To stop the ransomware pandemic, start with the basics

That will help stop other sorts of cyber-mischief, too

TWENTY YEARS ago, it might have been the plot of a trashy airport thriller. These days, it is routine. On May 7th cyber-criminals shut down the pipeline supplying almost half the oil to America’s east coast for five days. To get it flowing again, they demanded a $4.3m ransom from Colonial Pipeline Company, the owner. Days later, a similar “ransomware” assault crippled most hospitals in Ireland.

This article appeared in the Leaders section of the print edition under the headline “Broadbandits”

Broadbandits: The surging cyberthreat from spies and crooks

From the June 19th 2021 edition

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