Binding Hook

[New Report with @rusi.bsky.social] Assessing the Impact of Ransomware Interventions and Countermeasures: A Framework. This Pharos report presents a practical framework to evaluate counter-ransomware actions across severity, scope, longevity & reversibility, and signalling value.

Assessing the impact of counter-ransomware interventions Counter-ransomware interventions are becoming increasingly common, but judging whether those interventions ‘work’ remains difficult. Understanding impact means considering more than a single outcome a...

Counter-ransomware interventions are increasing, but assessing the impact remains difficult. Our latest article by @maxwsmeets.bsky.social, @jamiemaccoll.bsky.social, S. Williams-Dunning, & @bobherc.bsky.social introduces a practical framework to evaluate them.

Read: bindinghook.com/assessing-th...

Tom Johansmeyer is right: cyber catastrophe fears have distracted from building products that work. But every major cyber cat loss shares an "affinity" — a common technology or vulnerability — and we barely talk about tracking those. Cats are real though: ILS markets need clarity, not cybergeddon.

How extreme is the cyber catastrophe insurance protection gap? Fears of ‘cybergeddon’ may have been overstated – recent evidence suggests insurers have quietly been expanding capacity.

In his latest for Binding Hook, Johansmeyer covers how fears of a cyber ‘big one’ causing trillions in economic damage have constrained insurance capacity. Insurers worried cybergeddon had moved from sci-fi to reality. But is it true? Read the full article here: bindinghook.com/how-extreme-...

Law enforcement and policymakers must adapt. Studying law enforcement tactics in areas that have seen analogous moves from larger groups to wider fragmentation, such as counterterrorism, could be useful for combatting this evolved #ransomware threat.

Fragmentation creates opportunity. Smaller teams can pivot faster, rebrand quickly, and avoid scrutiny. Rather than relying on large marketplaces, access credentials are increasingly traded peer-to-peer on platforms such as #Telegram.

A fragmented ransomware ecosystem may be more threatening than we recognise Smaller ransomware groups, bigger ransomware problem

The #ransomware ecosystem is undergoing a significant but overlooked shift. More small actors. More attacks. Greater variation in skill and “professionalism.” A more dispersed, resilient threat.

What does this mean for #policy and #enforcement?
Read more: bindinghook.com/a-fragmented...

📬 Binding Hook’s upcoming monthly newsletter goes out tomorrow. If you're a subscriber you'll receive analysis on cybersecurity, emerging tech & policy, strategic insights, trend deep dives, and event invites. Join the mailing list: mailchi.mp/bindinghook....

A fragmented ransomware ecosystem may be more threatening than we recognise Smaller ransomware groups, bigger ransomware problem

In their latest for Binding Hook, @jasonnurse.bsky.social & Will Lyne show that the #ransomware ecosystem has fragmented. It is now crowded with smaller, more agile actors. As the landscape shifts, new threats require new tactics to combat.

Read full article: bindinghook.com/a-fragmented...

What if digital sovereignty is not about ownership? The 5th place essay of the Binding Hook-@munsecconf.bsky.social Essay Prize by N. Kelly proposes that strategic reversibility is key: what matters is who can access, compel, interrupt, & restore systems. Read essay: bindinghook.com/can-strategi...

Is Europe measuring digital sovereignty the wrong way? The 4th place essay by Francesca Musiani calls for a shift from ‘strategic autonomy’ to ‘strategic exposure management’ to build cyber resilience. Read the full essay: bindinghook.com/why-control-...

The winning essays are here! 🥁 Binding Hook and the @munsecconf.bsky.social (MSC) are pleased to share the five winning entries from this year’s Binding Hook-MSC Essay Prize Competition. Read more: bindinghook.com/announcing-t...

Binding Hook–MSC Essay Prize Competition Recap | Digital Sovereignty & Europe’s Cybersecurity YouTube video by Virtual Routes

Recap: An exciting moment at #MSC2026! Virtual Routes was proud to host a timely conversation on European cyber resilience and to present the Binding Hook–MSC Essay Prize, exploring how digital sovereignty might shape Europe’s cybersecurity & strategic future. www.youtube.com/watch?v=b7Tj...

Interdependence is not the opposite of sovereignty. The 3rd place essay of the Binding Hook & @munsecconf.bsky.social Essay Prize by Ian Donahue, argues Europe should pursue engineered interdependence to make critical systems harder to disrupt. Read the full essay: bindinghook.com/engineering-...

Can Europe truly achieve digital sovereignty, or is it overdue? The 2nd place of the Binding Hook & @munsecconf.bsky.social Essay Prize Competition by F. Blancato, argues that European digital sovereignty is not just necessary, but also possible. Read the full essay: bindinghook.com/the-european...

What if Europe’s cybersecurity future isn’t about more control, but about smarter autonomy? The winning essay of the Binding Hook & @munsecconf.bsky.social Essay Prize, 'Thin Sovereignty, Thick Autonomy' by Josh Gold, makes a bold case about it. Read the full essay: bindinghook.com/thin-soverei...

🔴Live from @munsecconf.bsky.social: Conversation on European Cyber Resilience (Today; 15:30–16:15 CET). Join Eva Maydell, @argv.bsky.social, & Josh Gold, moderated by @shashj.bsky.social, for a discussion on Europe’s cyber resilience & the Essay Prize. Watch live: bindinghook.com/event/a-conv...

Many thanks to our review board for their time and expertise in selecting the winning essays: Co-Chairs Eva Maydell and @shashj.bsky.social, also @mephenke.bsky.social, @nathalietocci.bsky.social, Luca Tagliaretti, @argv.bsky.social, @maxwsmeets.bsky.social. The competition is sponsored by Google.

Can strategic reversibility help Europe finally achieve digital sovereignty? In Nick Kelly’s 5th place Binding Hook-MSC Essay Prize Competition entry, he proposes several design proposals for digital sovereignty, redefined

‘Strategic reversibility’, rather than ownership, is key to Europe’s digital sovereignty – the challenge is not to eliminate dependence, but to ensure that dependence cannot be readily weaponised. Read Kelly’s 5th place essay: bindinghook.com/can-strategi...

Why control may be the wrong metric… and resilience the right In her essay, which won 4th place in the Binding Hook-Munich Security Conference Essay Prize Competition 2025-2026, Francesca Musiani argues that improving European cybersecurity depends on preparatio...

EU digital sovereignty efforts must reorient, from ‘strategic autonomy’ to ‘strategic exposure management’, mitigating dependencies rather than focusing strictly on their elimination. Read Musiani’s 4th place essay: bindinghook.com/why-control-...

Engineering interdependence for Europe’s cybersecurity In Ian Donahue’s 3rd place Binding Hook-MSC Essay Prize Competition entry, he writes that interdependence is key to securing European cyberspace

European cybersecurity depends on rejecting the false choice between sovereignty and dependence – interdependence, via diversified, governable cloud relationships, is key. Read Donahue’s 3rd place essay: bindinghook.com/engineering-...

The European challenge In his 2nd place Binding Hook-MSC Essay Prize Competition entry, Filippo Gualtiero Blancato argues that European digital sovereignty is both necessary and, crucially, possible

Digital sovereignty is vital – and possible – for Europe’s future. Cutting off dependence on US services will hurt in the short term – and require serious investment and policy action – but the consequences of inaction are far greater. Read Blancato’s 2nd place essay: bindinghook.com/the-european...

Thin sovereignty, thick autonomy In his 1st place Binding Hook-Munich Security Conference Essay Prize Competition essay, Josh Gold explains why European cyber resilience depends on design, not control

‘Thin sovereignty’: segmented according to sensitivity & ‘thick autonomy’: building collective resilience & governing dependencies, are key to ensuring that sovereignty protects legitimacy without undermining resilience. Read Gold’s winning essay: bindinghook.com/thin-soverei...

The winning essays are here! 🥁 Binding Hook and the @munsecconf.bsky.social (MSC) are pleased to share the five winning entries from this year’s Binding Hook-MSC Essay Prize Competition. Read more: bindinghook.com/announcing-t...

We’re #hiring in London! Virtual Routes is expanding into a new office and seeking a Senior Policy Researcher/Director and Project Officer. Apply via links in the replies. #CybersecurityJobs #JobsInLondon

Private power and the unravelling of the international order The rise of tech companies has created a new set of international actors that, with Trump’s support, are challenging older diplomatic and legal institutions.

Having ridden tech companies’ support to power, Trump may feel threatened by them and feel the need to demonstrate to those companies (and to other states) the tangible power that he has at his disposal, write Anjuli Shere and Neil Ashdown:

bindinghook.com/private-powe...

Another example of what Anjuli Shere and Neil Ashdown meant when they wrote, "tech barons use their resources to shape when, how, and which policy issues are considered – acting as the ‘stage on which such politics unfold’, rather than as participants themselves."

bindinghook.com/private-powe...

Denmark is recruiting hackers 'to compromise the opponents’ networks and obtain information for the benefit of Denmark’s security' -- another data point supporting @percepticon.bsky.social's recent Binding Hook piece on European shifts to the offensive:

bindinghook.com/how-european...

Another example of what Anjuli Shere and Neil Ashdown meant when they wrote, "tech barons use their resources to shape when, how, and which policy issues are considered – acting as the ‘stage on which such politics unfold’, rather than as participants themselves."

bindinghook.com/private-powe...

Private power and the unravelling of the international order The rise of tech companies has created a new set of international actors that, with Trump’s support, are challenging older diplomatic and legal institutions.

In their latest for Binding Hook, Anjuli Shere and Neil Ashdown look at how the rise of tech companies as international institutions is challenging the international order:

Read more: bindinghook.com/private-powe...