Robert M Lee, the chief executive of cyber security company Dragos, received an ominous message earlier this year. An organised criminal hacking group had broken into Dragos’s employee network, telling Lee they would release the company’s proprietary data unless a ransom were paid.
He refused to negotiate, so the hackers raised the stakes. They found his son’s passport online, school and telephone number. Lee said the message was clear: pay up, or your family is in danger.