1. Answer the who, what, from where and when of this article.

2. a) What is a confidential informant?
b) How would the gang’s release of the identities of confidential informants endanger them?

3. List the information the ransomware gang stole from the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department and is threatening to release (and has already even released from two dozen officers stolen files).

4. a) How much does the criminal gang Babuk demand the DC police pay in ransom?
b) How much did the Police Department allegedly offer the gang?
c) Should this (or any) police department pay a ransomware gang? Explain your answer.

5. a) Read the “Background” below the questions. What did police allegedly tell the gang?
b) What do you think of this response?

6. How are these cybercriminal mafias able to escape capture and prosecution?

7. It has been suggested that vital/vulnerable information of government and private companies should not be connected to the internet, as it makes it vulnerable to cyber attacks.

In addition, one reader commented: “We’ve got the top computer experts in the world in the U.S. Why aren’t we getting them to come up with something to make this sensitive information hack-proof?

What do you think?
a) What should every police department do going forward? Should they take their personal data offline? Explain your answer.
b) What should government agencies, private corporations, infrastructure, hospitals, etc. do to ensure the safety of their vital information? Explain your answer.