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How crypto is supercharging ransomware attacks

Cormac O'Brien,Martha Holeyman

Published: July 26, 2021

Graphic for the video 'How crypto is supercharging ransomware attacks'

Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin are becoming the preferred payment method in ransomware attacks, in which computer data is held hostage by malicious software.

But crypto's anonymity means cybercriminals are becoming even harder to trace and prosecute.

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FEATURED

Fintan McDonnell, Video Producer at the Thomson Reuters Foundation

This is where your cloud data lives

Modern life is powered by cloud data. But the virtual storage has a hidden carbon footprint – and the AI boom could supercharge it

Fintan McDonnell

Michael Scholte, co-founder of True Price Initiative looks at bananas in his hand as he walks around a supermarket in Amsterdam, in this still from the video 'This grocery store wants to fix capitalism'. Albert Han/Thomson Reuters Foundation

This grocery store wants to fix capitalism

As food prices soar worldwide, one Dutch organisation says they should be higher still, to reflect the cost of the environmental and social damage they cause

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KICKING IT

We’re addicted to the things that we know are bad for the planet. Why is it so hard to quit them?

In Brazil, barbecue joints like Mocellin, in Rio de Janeiro, are some of the most favoured gathering places for families to celebrate holidays and anniversaries

Brazilians are eating less beef than ever. Is it enough to stop deforestation?

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In Brazil, barbecue joints like Mocellin, in Rio de Janeiro, are some of the most favoured gathering places for families to celebrate holidays and anniversaries

Brazilians are eating less beef than ever. Is it enough to stop deforestation?

Sander Sarheim, a coal miner from Svalbard, a Norwegian archipelago, poses in this still from a video

Why the fastest warming place on earth can’t quit coal

Next video in this series is coming soon.

In Brazil, barbecue joints like Mocellin, in Rio de Janeiro, are some of the most favoured gathering places for families to celebrate holidays and anniversaries

Brazilians are eating less beef than ever. Is it enough to stop deforestation?

Sander Sarheim, a coal miner from Svalbard, a Norwegian archipelago, poses in this still from a video

Why the fastest warming place on earth can’t quit coal

Lab Made

A series about an industry challenging the way we think about food and whether it can live up to its promise of changing the world

Steven Stearns, Head of Strategy and Development at California Cultured, is pictured preparing lab-grown chocolate prototype using a technology called 'plant cell culture' for the for the Context video 'Can a more ethical chocolate bar be grown in the lab?'

Can a more ethical chocolate bar be grown in the lab?

Still from the Context video 'What should we call lab-grown meat'?

What should we call “lab-grown meat”?

Still from the Context video 'Can lab-grown meat be kosher or halal?'

Can lab-grown meat be kosher or halal?

A still from the Context video 'Can lab-grown milk solve dairy’s climate problem?' showing a jar of cream cheese on a table next to items of food

Can lab-grown milk solve dairy’s climate problem?

Steven Stearns, Head of Strategy and Development at California Cultured, is pictured preparing lab-grown chocolate prototype using a technology called 'plant cell culture' for the for the Context video 'Can a more ethical chocolate bar be grown in the lab?'

Can a more ethical chocolate bar be grown in the lab?

Still from the Context video 'What should we call lab-grown meat'?

What should we call “lab-grown meat”?

Still from the Context video 'Can lab-grown meat be kosher or halal?'

Can lab-grown meat be kosher or halal?

A still from the Context video 'Can lab-grown milk solve dairy’s climate problem?' showing a jar of cream cheese on a table next to items of food

Can lab-grown milk solve dairy’s climate problem?

Steven Stearns, Head of Strategy and Development at California Cultured, is pictured preparing lab-grown chocolate prototype using a technology called 'plant cell culture' for the for the Context video 'Can a more ethical chocolate bar be grown in the lab?'

Can a more ethical chocolate bar be grown in the lab?

Still from the Context video 'What should we call lab-grown meat'?

What should we call “lab-grown meat”?

Still from the Context video 'Can lab-grown meat be kosher or halal?'

Can lab-grown meat be kosher or halal?

A still from the Context video 'Can lab-grown milk solve dairy’s climate problem?' showing a jar of cream cheese on a table next to items of food

Can lab-grown milk solve dairy’s climate problem?

REROOTED

In this series, we explore how climate change and shifting consumer habits are forcing us to rethink the way we grow staple crops, from coffee to rice

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