How modern cybercrime works – and pays

Phishy Business

In just three months in 2020, there were more than 900,000 spam messages and 48,000 malicious URLs – all related to Covid-19.

At the same time, groups from the World Health Organisation to Interpol were issuing warnings about a surge in online threats. There’s no doubt cybercrime has become headline news. But author and investigative journalist Geoff White has been covering hacking since it was a niche topic. Geoff believes the dynamics behind cybercrime are fascinating – and attitudes towards victims must change if we’re to combat it collectively.

In the third episode of Phishy Business, we discuss:

• What makes a cybercriminal, from lone basement hackers to nation states
• How you investigate a hacker – and the ethical dilemmas for journalists
• The issue of victim shaming and blaming, on a personal and a corporate level
• What action we can take against the rising tide of cybercrime

In Geoff’s view, people tend to think about cybercrime like they’d think about Godzilla: a terrifying monster that occasionally rears its head from the depths, causing fear, panic and uncertainty. He wants to shed light on where cybercrime comes from and what might be next, so that we can protect ourselves together. And you can find out how in the full episode.

About Phishy Business

Fed up with the same old cybersecurity stories? Come with us on a journey that explores the lesser-known side. Whether it’s social engineering, taking criminals to court or the journalists hunting down hackers — our new podcast series, Phishy Business, looks for new ways to think about cybersecurity. Mimecast’s very own Brian Pinnock and Alice Jeffery are joined by guests from a range of unique security specialisms. Each episode explores tales of risk, reward and just a dash of ridiculousness to learn how we can all improve in the fight to stay safe. For more tales of risk, reward and ridiculousness, subscribe to Phishy Business on iTunes, Spotify, Anchor or wherever you get your podcasts.

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