The Netwalker criminal gang attacked University of California San Francisco (UCSF) on 1 June. IT staff unplugged computers in a race to stop the malware spreading.
And an anonymous tip-off enabled BBC News to follow the ransom negotiations in a live chat on the dark web.
It is not clear who tipped off the BBC or why as to the unfolding of this incident but the BBC was able to follow the negotiations live as they happened between the victims and the perpetrators. This is a first for the industry.
Nonetheless, this is yet another example of the menace ransomware gangs are inflicting on businesses and institutions worldwide and how they take advantage of current circumstances, such as COVID, to increase their gains of digital theft.
Click the button below to read the news piece on the BBC website.
