Episode 352: Inside the Ransomware Economy: Incentives, Governance, and Risk with Anja Shortland

About this episode

Professor Anja Shortland discusses the evolution of ransomware as a sophisticated form of cybercrime and its implications.

This episode hosts Professor Anja Shortland, returning to the podcast following her previous appearance in 2021, to examine how ransomware has evolved into a sophisticated and highly organised form of cybercrime, operating as a global market shaped by incentives, reputation, and weak governance. The conversation explores the scale of the threat, with billions in annual losses, and how attacks extend far beyond encryption to include data theft, business disruption, and systemic risk acro...

People in this episode

Host: Dominic Bowen

Guest: Anja Shortland

Topics covered

• ransomware
• cybercrime
• governance
• risk management
• incentives
• data theft

Keywords

• ransomware
• cybercrime
• incentives
• governance
• data theft
• business disruption
• systemic risk

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: ransomware, cybercrime

More episodes of The International Risk Podcast

• Episode 374: The Illusion of Separation: Civil-Military Coordination in Modern Conflict with David Higgins · June 11, 2026 · 27 min
• Episode 373: Social Norms and Political Violence with Erez Levin · June 9, 2026 · 34 min
• Episode 372: Who Controls Your Health Data? Palantir, the NHS and the Risks of Digital Dependency · June 8, 2026 · 26 min
• Episode 371: Mali at the Breaking Point: Insurgency, Military Rule, and the Future of the Sahel with Ulf Laessing · June 4, 2026 · 22 min
• Episode 370: The Global Race to Detect the Next Outbreak: Ebola, Hantavirus, and the Politics of Public Health Response with Professor Meru Sheel · June 3, 2026 · 37 min
• Episode 369: Reopening the Strait: Hormuz, Sea Power, and the Fragility of Global Trade with Dr Emma Salisbury · May 31, 2026 · 37 min