The ransomware hunting team A band of misfits' improbable crusade to save the world from cybercrime
Book - 2022
"Scattered across the world, an elite team of code crackers is working tirelessly to thwart the defining cyber scourge of our time. You've probably never heard of them. But if you work for a school, a business, a hospital, or a municipal government, or simply cherish your digital data, you may be painfully familiar with the team's sworn enemy: ransomware. Again and again, an unlikely band of misfits, mostly self-taught and often struggling to make ends meet, have outwitted the underworld of hackers who lock computer networks and demand huge payments in return for the keys. The Ransomware Hunting Team traces the adventures of these unassuming heroes and how they have used their skills to save millions of ransomware victims fro...m paying billions of dollars to criminals. Working tirelessly from bedrooms and back offices, and refusing payment, they've rescued those whom the often hapless FBI has been unwilling or unable to help. Foremost among them is Michael Gillespie, a cancer survivor and cat lover who got his start cracking ransomware while working at a Nerds on Call store in the town of Normal, Illinois. Other teammates include the brilliant, reclusive Fabian Wosar, a high school dropout from Germany who enjoys bantering with the attackers he foils, and his protégé, the British computer science prodigy Sarah White. Together, they have established themselves as the most effective force against an escalating global threat. This book follows them as they put their health, personal relationships, and financial security on the line to navigate the technological and moral challenges of combating digital hostage taking"--Dust jacket flap.
- Subjects
- Published
-
New York :
Farrar, Straus and Giroux
2022.
- Language
- English
- Main Author
- Other Authors
- Edition
- First edition
- Item Description
- "Portions of this book previously appeared in the ProPublica series The Extortion Economy."--Title page verso.
- Physical Description
- 355 pages ; 24 cm
- Bibliography
- Includes bibliographical references and index.
- ISBN
- 9780374603304
- Introduction: "Are You Indeed a Barbarian?"
- 1. The Man Who Invented Ransomware
- 2. The Superhero of Normal, Illinois
- 3. The Hunters Gather
- 4. The Funny War
- 5. The Price of Obsession
- 6. Stopping STOP
- 7. Ryuk Reigns
- 8. The FBI's Dilemma
- 9. The G-Man and the Dolphin
- 10. Shaking Down a City
- 11. The Extortion Economy
- 12. Lawrence's Truce
- 13. Pipeline to Tomorrow
- Notes
- Acknowledgments
- Index
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Review by Library Journal Review
Review by Kirkus Book Review