This weekly update discusses the current state of cyber ransoms, highlighting how ransomware attacks are often conducted by inexperienced actors and the legal repercussions for breached companies.
<img src="https://storage.ghost.io/c/fb/33/fb3391dc-723d-4e74-b95a-d641b5feb38e/content/images/2026/08/Splash-Template-2.jpg" alt="Weekly Update 517: Cyber Ransoms"><p>The current ransomware situation is a bit of a kludge (deep breath): a lot of ransomware (which often doesn't even involve "ware", it's just extortion) is carried out by kids who successfully make a truckload of money but can't spend it without getting caught and the companies they breach rapidly get piled onto by class action lawyers that keeps them busy fighting and being cautious not to say anyting to customers lest that then gets used against them in litigation. That's mostly it; more in this week's video:</p>
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# Weekly Update 517: Cyber Ransoms
Source: [https://www.troyhunt.com/weekly-update-517/](https://www.troyhunt.com/weekly-update-517/)
The current ransomware situation is a bit of a kludge \(deep breath\): a lot of ransomware \(which often doesn't even involve "ware", it's just extortion\) is carried out by kids who successfully make a truckload of money but can't spend it without getting caught and the companies they breach rapidly get piled onto by class action lawyers that keeps them busy fighting and being cautious not to say anyting to customers lest that then gets used against them in litigation\. That's mostly it; more in this week's video:
[](https://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/troy-hunts-weekly-update-podcast/id1176454699?ref=troy-hunt)
[](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7LAAxaabizMAXnJe0s3xjQ30q12EVmjt&ref=troyhunt.com)
[](https://open.spotify.com/show/7jMtKFohdrw6qmz8AkLqit?ref=troy-hunt)
[](https://omny.fm/shows/troy-hunt-weekly-update/playlists/podcast.rss?ref=troy-hunt)
[Weekly update](https://www.troyhunt.com/tag/weekly-update/)
Troy Hunt's weekly update discusses the normalization of ransomware payments, referencing Grafana's refusal to pay and Instructure's euphemistic 'agreement' with attackers, and criticizes the softening of language around criminal extortion.
Troy Hunt discusses how AI's role in cybersecurity breaches is often misrepresented in media, highlighting that real incidents are less sensational than headlines suggest.
Troy Hunt discusses the Origin Energy data breach in Australia, including the multi-faceted response from the company and hacker, and the ongoing risk of data leaks.
Troy Hunt's weekly update covers his busy week with talks on 3D printing and infosec, data breaches, and IoT projects, focusing on security and data integrity topics.
Ransomware attacks are surging, with nearly half of victims paying ransoms; governments are banning payments, and AI tools like WormGPT are enabling more attacks.