12 min listen
Cybercrime: what does psychology have to do with phishing?
FromScience Weekly
ratings:
Length:
19 minutes
Released:
Jun 20, 2023
Format:
Podcast episode
Description
At the start of 2023, the UK postal service Royal Mail was hit with an ultimatum: pay $80m (£67m) or continue to have international shipments blocked. The demand came from Russian-linked hackers the LockBit group, who had infiltrated Royal Mail’s software. Royal Mail refused to pay and eventually reinstated its overseas deliveries, but the cyber-attack came at a huge cost to the company and others that depend on its service. Ransomware attacks like this one are on the rise. So too are phishing attempts, emails and texts that try to fool recipients into clicking on links that contain malware or ask for personal information. Ian Sample speaks to the Yale law professor and author Scott Shapiro about cybercrime, how attacks hack into our psychology and what individuals and governments could do to stop it. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod
Released:
Jun 20, 2023
Format:
Podcast episode
Titles in the series (100)
Will Silicon Valley help us live to 200 and beyond?: Billions are being poured into scientific efforts to understand and stave off the effects of ageing. Ian Sample finds out about how Silicon Valley start-ups aim to keep the rich younger and healthier for longer by Science Weekly