Many gangs still operate in Russia and Ukraine, though ransomware hubs have emerged in Iran, Brazil, India, North Korea, China and Peru. Some hackers seem to work independently, like pirates. Others appear to have links to their country’s government, or at least a licence to harass Western companies as long as they don’t cause so much harm that... See more

Since serving his jail sentence and leaving behind his criminal past, Brett has become a leading consultant on tech security, now helping people learn how to protect themselves against the type of person he once was. 

A decade or so ago Hare-Brown noticed a rise in insurance companies offering cyber-crime policies, and thought there might be demand for a firm that could perform risk assessments and investigations for them. He started STORM Guidance in 2014, and Shah came on board five years later.