The Center for Education and Research in Information Assurance and Security (CERIAS)

The Center for Education and Research in
Information Assurance and Security (CERIAS)
Center for Education and Research in Information Assurance and Security

Maggie MacAlpine - MITRE Engenuity

Students: Spring 2026, unless noted otherwise, sessions will be virtual on Zoom.

Ransomware and the Future of Cyberwarfare

Oct 05, 2022

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Abstract

Use of Ransomware as a class of malware has exploded in recent years, causing millions in damages to organizations across the world. The damage isn't slowing down. On the contrary, ransomware as a tool is being adopted by a wide array of perpetrators. This includes nation-states, for cash, and to use the demand for cash to obfuscate activities like espionage and sabotage. Ransomware has become a powerful tool of asset seizure and extortion, being used by criminals, activists, and even sanctioned governments for multiple purposes including use as a weapon of war. The use of ransomware and its close cousin, wiperware, is only accelerating. In this talk, we will examine how the proliferation of ransomware brought us to this point, what it means for current global conflicts, and for the future of cyberwarfare.

About the Speaker

Maggie MacAlpine
Maggie MacAlpine is the Cyber Engagement Lead for MITRE's Center for Threat Informed Defense. Prior to this appointment she served as a security strategist for Cybereason and, during her decade-long career focused on cybersecurity, Ms. MacAlpine also co-founded the DEF CON Voting Village, served as a contributing researcher on the "Security Analysis of the Estonian Internet Voting System" (in partnership with the University of Michigan), and appeared in the HBO documentary, "Kill Chain". She has discussed cybersecurity threats at numerous conferences including DEF CON, the Diana Initiative, ShmooCon Hacker Conference, PacSec Tokyo, as well as in presentations to Capitol Hill and the US Naval War College.


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