GROSS: Now, the ransom is paid and cryptocurrency like Bitcoin. And so they're really, really hard pressed to act very, very quickly to clear this up - the victims are. Not only does the victim risk losing access to important computer files that may be necessary for the day-to-day running of the business, but the hackers will threaten to spill this information into the public domain to be used by competitors, to be used by other hackers to carry out additional attacks on the company. And this is basically to put added pressure on the business. GROSS: And it not only locks victims out of computer systems. And so they're instructed to get in touch immediately with a DarkSide representative to begin negotiations over the ransom. They're warned - victims are warned not to try and tamper with their computer systems themselves, try not to access their data themselves, because this may result in the loss of the data completely. And the letter is written in a kind of very formal, businesslike manner with very subtle threats. And what they need to do is they'll rely on DarkSide by paying a ransom to provide them with a key that will allow them to get these files back. And it contains a list of instructions on how the victim can go about unlocking their data. When the ransomware is uploaded into a victim's computer system, the first thing they see is a ransom note. Let's start with what you learned the victim sees on the screen when DarkSide captures the computer system. The inner workings of ransomware that you found out were fascinating.
We recorded our interview yesterday morning. Last year, he was a lead reporter on the team that won a Pulitzer Prize for a series of articles about Russian intelligence operations around the world. Schwirtz worked in The New York Times' Russia bureau from 2006 to 2012. These cybercriminals and many others are believed to be operating from Russia.
Schwirtz has also reported on the company that attacked JBS, which is called REvil - R-E-V-I-L. They were outed as the attackers of Colonial Pipeline, they went dark. DarkSide pulled in millions of dollars in ransom payments each month after. These communications offered what he described as an extraordinary glimpse into the internal workings of a Russian-speaking gang that had become the face of global cybercrime. Michael Schwirtz is an investigative reporter at The New York Times who gained access to secret communications from the cybercriminal operation DarkSide that attacked Colonial Pipeline. My guest got an inside look at how the new breed of ransomware attackers operate. Similar ransomware attacks have been waged on many companies, large and small, and on hospitals, the police and cities. Ransomware attacks have disrupted the flow of gas and the supply of meat in just the past few weeks after Colonial Pipeline and JBS, the meat processing company, had their computer systems held hostage for ransom.
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