Host Molly Wood speaks with Marketplace correspondent Scott Tong about the increase in ransomware attacks against hospitals and other health-care facilities. Tong says places that are working on coronavirus testing and vaccines appear to be especially popular targets. And because these institutions are anxious to restore access to potentially lost patient information, they may ignore authorities’ advice and pay the ransoms.

Notarization has been around for centuries. It’s when an official of the state verifies a person’s identity so she can buy a house, adopt a child or draft a will. Lots of states allow online notarization, but the COVID-19 pandemic has forced others states to follow. On “Marketplace Tech” today, a look at how online notarization works, why it costs more and how secure the practice is.

Host Molly Wood speaks with Sarah Chavez, executive director of the nonprofit group The Order of the Good Death. Social distancing makes it hard to mourn together deaths from the pandemic or other causes. So people are turning to digital spaces to remember their loved ones. Chavez says some people are even creating digital altars in the video game Animal Crossing.

Host Molly Wood speaks with Renée DiResta, the technical research manager at Stanford Internet Observatory, about coronavirus disinformation campaigns. YouTube, Facebook and Twitter have been trying to chase the conspiracies off the internet, but DiResta says it’s not an accident these theories reach so many people. It’s an old playbook that’s even more effective in a time of fear and uncertainty. 

Host Molly Wood speaks with Ann Hornaday, a film critic at The Washington Post, about the future of films in the pandemic era. Since lots of people are working from home and using Zoom, she says it will eventually be a stylistic option for directors trying to convey what it was like living through 2020. It’s just a matter of time, she says, before the first Zoom movie.

Host Molly Wood speaks with Etsy CEO Josh Silverman about how the platform has been a go-to for people looking for fabric masks. Silverman says that Etsy sellers had to pivot to making and selling masks after the CDC announced that everyone should be wearing them outside. The company helped sell more than 12 million masks last month.

Host Molly Wood speaks with Marketplace’s Kimberly Adams, who covers politics and the economy, about how political ads are changing during the pandemic. Adams says online ads may be cheaper, helping cash-strapped campaigns, but consumers are even less in the mood for content that doesn’t either cheer them up or inform them about COVID-19. It could also mean that online ads are way more accessible to bad actors looking to spread misinformation.

Host Molly Wood speaks with Michael Petricone of the Consumer Technology Association about the Trump administration’s executive order on green cards and how it’ll affect the tech industry. Petricone says that immigrants make the U.S. economy and tech industry stronger. He adds that limitations on green cards and visas could make it harder for the economy to recover once the COVID-19 pandemic recedes. 

Host Molly Wood speaks with Ryan Calo, a professor of law at the University of Washington, about the legalities involved in police using drones to monitor social distancing requirements during this pandemic. Calo says that though it can be legal, he is worried about surveillance being combined with AI tools that purport to detect whether people are sick. He raises concerns about companies selling “technical snake oil” and increasing anxieties in an already anxious environment.

Host Molly Wood speaks with Dr. Loren Wold, from the nursing school of Ohio State University, about how he and OSU colleagues have adapted to create COVID-19 tests. He says they’ve needed to create their own fluids to stabilize samples, 3D-print their own nasal swabs and figure out supply chain logistics for test tubes.