Kettle Believe us, we wish there was a simple solution that could stop ransomware dead in its tracks for good.

But we all know life is not that easy – nor is it hopeless. Some have suggested a total ban on ransom payments will help curb attacks, and we sympathize with that view. There is perhaps a discussion to be had, though, over the effectiveness of such a ban, as set out [1]in this opinion piece my colleague Jess wrote the other day. We feel it's worth debating.

Today we delve into that topic, and the deplorable tactics criminals are using to put extra pressure on victims, such as [2]threatening to call police SWAT teams on cancer patients. You can replay our chat below – or listen via your favorite podcast distributor: [3]RSS and MP3 , [4]Apple , [5]Amazon , [6]Spotify , and [7]Google .

On today's 16-ish-minute show we have, clockwise from top left in the thumbnail, vultures Chris Williams, Brandon Vigliarolo, Jessica Lyons Hardcastle, and host Iain Thomson.

This episode was produced and edited by Nicole Hemsoth Prickett. You can find previous Kettles [8]right here . ®

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[1] https://www.theregister.com/2024/01/06/ransomware_payment_ban_wrong_idea/

[2] https://www.theregister.com/2024/01/05/swatting_extorion_tactics/

[3] https://feeds.simplecast.com/Vnvf8Fkd

[4] https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-register-kettle/id1713589041

[5] https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/fe62a659-3451-496b-b064-f30744c2ad65/the-register-kettle

[6] https://open.spotify.com/show/3SkH00VOX02KYNaAbYzajj

[7] https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5zaW1wbGVjYXN0LmNvbS9WbnZmOEZrZA?ep=14

[8] https://www.theregister.com/Tag/kettle

[9] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_security/cybercrime&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2ZZ8hmE-sXZ8HhC9tuKALOQAAAYo&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0

[10] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/