Did you know that ransomware is a highly effective weapon that countries are deploying against each other? Security consultant and ex-hacker Mike Jones is back with us to talk about how this could affect global politics.

Chances are you’ve heard of ransomware in it’s commercialized form. These attacks are perpetrated against corporations or consumers, causing them to lose access to their information unless they pay a huge ransom to the bad guys. Mike explains that providing ransomware as a service has become so widely used as a business model that there are actually help lines for hackers to call if the ransomware isn’t behaving properly. Help lines, I kid you not!

With that level of effectiveness, it’s not surprising that this technology has evolved to be used as a weapon. Mike coined the term Ransomware as a Weapon or RAW. We can see examples of this being used in Estonia to bring down the power grid, or more recently in the escalating conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

One of Mike’s top concerns is how little the public understands about what is going on, which is why he’s doing his best to get the word out about it. His experience behind the scenes of cyber intelligence has shown him that the full picture includes economic as well as political impacts.

There are three specific areas that Mike believes could benefit from extra funding and attention, including the sharing of information. Right now, companies are hesitant to share key takeaways from overcoming a cyberattack. He wants that type of data to become public information, so other companies can learn from it. This would be an important cultural shift!

There is currently a huge deficit of cybersecurity professionals. Mike sees people coming out of the military as a valuable resource in closing that gap, but vets need support transitioning to private sector jobs. To meet this need, Mike is launching a charity called Hackers for Vets. This charity will provide scholarships for certifications and equipment to vets who need it.

Mike encourages teamwork to fight these threats. He believes that the key to overcoming ransomware as a weapon will be looking out for one another and working together.

Takeaways from this episode:

1. Ransomware has evolved into a powerful weapon in global conflict.
2. Mike Jones, security consultant and ex-hacker, wants to raise awareness and increase information sharing in the private sector to help combat this.
3. There is a huge need for more cybersecurity professionals, and Mike is launching a charity to equip people coming out of the military to help fill that gap.
4. Through this charity, Hackers for Vets, Mike plans to provide certification scholarships and equipment to vets who need it.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

Cyber War: The Next Threat to National Security and What to Do About It

https://www.amazon.com/Cyber-War-Threat-National-Security/dp/0061962244

004. How vulnerable is your information? A 'good hacker' spills the beans

https://cyber-smart-with-dana-mantilia.sounder.fm/episode/how-vulnerable-are-you-hackers-online

To connect to Mike Jones please visit:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikejonesnotanalias/

Subscribe to Mike's podcast:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/h4unt3d-hacker/id1569755148

If you'd like to learn more about cybersecurity and online identity protection, you can connect with me on LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/dana-mantilia/

To protect your company against cyber crime, you can now book me for cybersecurity training:

https://bit.ly/3CtZKzD

To keep your family protected online, learn more about our Identron Identity Theft Protection software:

http://bit.ly/Identron