Digital Extortion

View Digital Extortion: A Forward-looking View

Digital extortion is the act of coercing an individual or company to pay in exchange for gaining back access to stolen cyber assets. The assets may be anything that directly ties in to the victim’s personal information, business operations or financial interests, such as documents and database files.  

Digital extortion can come in different forms: ransomware, online smear campaigns, negative review spamming, online blackmail, equipment hijacking, and even phishing. Anyone can fall victim to a digital extortion attack, from private individuals and celebrities to politicians and organizations.