Ransom War: How Cyber Crime Became a Threat to National Security w/ Max Smeets

Join us for a compelling book talk that delves into the alarming rise of ransomware—malicious software that prevents users from accessing their systems or data until a ransom is paid. This pervasive issue poses significant challenges and costs for businesses, national security, and individuals—particularly society’s most vulnerable.

Dr Max Smeets’ landmark study demystifies the ransomware playbook, uncovering its funding mechanisms, organisational structures, and strategies. The talk will explore the ransomware crisis in Costa Rica in 2022, where a series of devastating attacks prompted the President to declare a national emergency, describing a ‘state of war.’ This pivotal event offers valuable insights into how ransomware networks arise, operate, and collapse.

Through the lens of one of the largest ransomware operations ever recorded, Dr Smeets reveals how this threat has evolved, how it differs from traditional cyber and hacking challenges, and how it can be effectively addressed.

The talk will be followed by a chance to ask questions, engage in discussion, and enjoy light refreshments with Dr Smeets. Copies of Ransom War will be available for purchase at the event, and the book is also available for pre-order here.

About the author

Max Smeets DPhil is a leading expert in cyber conflict and security, who has written on cyber strategy for The Washington Post, War on the Rocks, Slate and others. He holds research positions at ETH Zurich, the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) and Stanford University’s Center for International Security and Cooperation. Max is the author of No Shortcuts: Why States Struggle to Develop a Military Cyber Force (also published by Hurst), and the co-editor of Deter, Disrupt, or Deceive and Cyberspace and Instability. He also co-directs Virtual Routes, and serves as Managing Editor of Binding Hook.