What if ransomware did not begin with criminals, but with curiosity? In this episode of Breaking Math, Autumn and Noah talk with Anja Shortland, professor of political economy at King’s College London and author of Dark Screens.

This conversation explores how playful hacking evolved into professionalized cybercrime, why ransomware gangs operate like morally questionable internet startups, how cryptocurrency made ransomware scalable, and why hospitals, governments, universities, and critical infrastructure remain especially vulnerable. We also dig into the mathematics behind encryption, asymmetric cryptography, game theory, negotiation, cyber insurance, and the uncomfortable trade-offs between freedom, privacy, and regulation.

Chapters

00:00 The origins of ransomware and early hacker culture

02:13 The evolution of ransomware attacks since 2013

03:14 The paradox of cybercriminals as entrepreneurs

06:19 Early hackers: Steve Jobs and Wozniak as pioneers

12:34 The moral and legal landscape of hacking and cybercrime

13:39 The importance of cybersecurity awareness for individuals

15:03 The arms race: attackers vs defenders and the role of math

16:02 The technological innovations behind ransomware

19:21 Asymmetric encryption and cryptocurrency in ransomware

20:53 Bitcoin and the dark web: enabling cybercrime

22:45 The impact of AI on future cyber threats and defenses