Honor Among Thieves:  Anja Shortland and Ransomware

Honor Among Thieves: Anja Shortland and Ransomware

From The Answer Is Transaction Costs by Michael Munger

April 28, 2026 · 1h 7m

About this episode

A discussion with Dr Anya Shortland about the economics of ransomware and the institutions that enable extortion markets.

Send us Fan Mail A talk with Dr Anya Shortland about the economics of ransomware and the gray-zone institutions that let extortion markets function when nobody can truly enforce trust. We dig into how cyber insurance quietly becomes a form of governance, why data leaks change the game, and what national security risks emerge as everything gets connected. • criminal markets that sit between legal firms and underworld gangs • insurance as governance through protocols, repeat play, a...

People in this episode

Host: Michael Munger

Guest: Dr Anya Shortland

Topics covered

  • ransomware
  • economics
  • extortion markets
  • cyber insurance
  • national security
  • data leaks

Keywords

  • ransomware
  • extortion
  • cyber insurance
  • data leaks
  • national security
  • trust
  • governance

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: cyber insurance

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