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

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,…

Anja Shortland

Anja Shortland

Anja Shortland is Professor of Political Economy at King’s College London, where she studies private governance in some of the world’s most complex and hostile markets, including kidnapping, piracy, fine art theft, antiquities, and ransomware. Her work explores how people trade, negotiate, and create systems of order in environments where formal state enforcement is weak…

Masked hacker with credit card at computer, symbolizing cybercrime and anonymity.

Ransomware as an Industry: Inside the Economics of Digital Extortion

When ransomware shuts down a pipeline, exposes hospital data, or forces a local authority offline, the disruption is often framed as a technical failure. In reality, these incidents represent the visible edge of something far more structured: a global criminal economy that increasingly mirrors the organisation of legitimate industry. Ransomware has evolved from opportunistic hacking…

Not If, But When: Post-Quantum Cryptography and Global Infrastructure Risk

Not If, But When: Post-Quantum Cryptography and Global Infrastructure Risk

Quantum computing has shifted from theoretical promise to imminent reality. Its progress has profound implications for global cybersecurity, financial stability and the integrity of the systems that underpin everyday life. In this episode of The International Risk Podcast, Dominic Bowen speaks with Dr Michele Mosca, Co-Founder and CEO of Evolution Q, about the timeline, governance,…

Cyber risks- the international risk podcast

A New Era of Cyber Risks: Navigating Digital Battlegrounds

Author: Camila Mateos Betancourt Cyber threats are not a new phenomenon in our interconnected world, but their scale and impact have grown significantly with advancements in technology and its increasing accessibility to a wider range of actors. As humans, we have become deeply reliant on technological devices for our daily lives. Beyond personal devices like…

Kailyn Johnson

Kailyn Johnson

Kailyn Johnson is the Cyber Intelligence and Geopolitical Risk Lead at Sibylline where she leads the Cyber regional desk in conducting cyber risk analysis and strategic forecasting. Her work focuses cyber trends, emphasising analysis on the wider context for how cyber threats are connected to geopolitical affairs and physical security incidents, and the implications of…

Episode 216: Cyber Threats and Geopolitical Risks: Safeguarding Businesses in a Digital Age with Kailyn Johnson

This week, Dominic Bowen welcomes Kailyn Johnson to The International Risk Podcast for an insightful discussion on the evolving landscape of cyber threats and their impact on businesses worldwide. Together, they explore the evolving role of cyber crimes, the growing threat of intellectual property theft, and the risks businesses face when they neglect their software…