Back in September 2017, we learned from credit reporting company Equifax that they had been hacked and the personal information of about 147 million people had been compromised. On Monday, the Justice Department charged four Chinese military members as the culprits. Exploiting a software vulnerability that Equifax failed to patch, the hackers were able to spend weeks in the system stealing sensitive data. Matt Zapotosky, national security reporter at the Washington Post, joins us for how it was done.

Next, Ransomware has taken a significant leap forward in its sophistication and accessibility. Right now anyone can get on to the dark web and buy their way into “RaaS” or ransomware as a service. It provides the buyer with an online interface to easily execute and manage this type of cybercrime. It is a simple, low-risk way to target someone… infect their computer, encrypt their files, get paid ransom money, and send the victim a way to decrypt those files. Drake Bennett, reporter on the Projects and Investigations team at Bloomberg News, joins us for what happened when he sabotaged his editor with ransomware.

Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.