in his January 29 Backspin column, Mark Gibbs wrote a cheeky narrative as told through the eyes of a Russian criminal. In so doing, Gibbs tells the story of how the criminal takes control of a computer and holds it for ransom. While his narrative is complete fiction, the story he tells is really happening. He writes:
In the three-ninth kingdom ("V tridevyátom tsárstve," which is like your "once upon a time"), my little friend got into Gibbs' computer ...
I have zero day exploit I purchase off my friend Yuri that it is better to remain my little secret (this cost me a hundred thousand credit cards, which was a lot but what I got from Heartland Credit Systems was much greater … )
Now my little friend is busy. He is sending me everything from Mr. Gibbs' hard drive. I could clean out Gibbs' bank account but what fun would that be? His bank would simply cover the loss. No, much better to just hold Gibbs' computer hostage. He is now seeing a pop-up that says the following: "My dear Mr. Gibbs, I could clean out your bank account. I could send porn to all your friends so it looks like you sent it. I could do anything I want. But this is your lucky day. You will have noticed by now that you cannot access your files. All I want you to do is pay me $10 a month and I will let you have access. ...