Ransomware attacks – in which hackers lock up computer networks and/or threaten to leak stolen data – have become a global epidemic, said A.J. Vicens in Mother Jones. The cybersecurity group Emsisoft estimates that more than $18.6bn was paid in ransoms in 2020, and that at least 2,354 US-based government, healthcare and education institutions faced some level of ransomware attack last year. The real number is no doubt higher, as some companies prefer not to reveal they’ve been targeted. Among the recent victims are several US police departments, who have had large quantities of classified data – including surveillance videos, crime-scene photos, names of informants – stolen and, in some cases, published online.