Renee Dudley
I am a ProPublica reporter focused on technology, cybersecurity and business.
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I’m interested in the intersection of Big Tech and national security. If you’ve worked in tech or government, or otherwise have tips about this area, please get in touch.
What I Cover
Since last year, I have been reporting on Microsoft and its quest to dominate the cloud computing market, which at times has put corporate profit over customer security. I showed how the tech giant’s business decisions ultimately impacted data privacy and national security. I enjoy taking on issues that have been long ignored because they are not easily understood. I spend hours on calls with sources to unpack complex technical subjects, from esoteric cybersecurity tools to arcane government contracts. Grappling with the material during these discussions helps me to ask questions and write authoritatively.
My Background
I joined ProPublica as a technology reporter in 2018. Always finding a financial angle, I quickly became interested in the business of ransomware, the most pervasive cybercrime of our day. My award-winning 2019 series, “The Extortion Economy,” became the basis for a book I co-authored called “The Ransomware Hunting Team,” published in 2022 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux. Before ProPublica, I was a reporter for Bloomberg News and Reuters, where I was a 2017 Pulitzer Prize finalist for a series on the college entrance exam industry. I started my career at daily newspapers in New England and South Carolina, where my work led to the resignation and indictment of the state’s most powerful politician.
The Amazon Lockdown: How an Unforgiving Algorithm Drives Suppliers to Favor the E-Commerce Giant Over Other Retailers
At a time when much of the retail sector is collapsing, Amazon is strengthening its competitive position in ways that could outlast the pandemic — and raise antitrust concerns.
Like Voldemort, Ransomware Is Too Scary to Be Named
Wary of alarming investors, companies victimized by ransomware attacks often tell the SEC that “malware” or a “security incident” disrupted their operations.
The Ransomware Superhero of Normal, Illinois
Thanks to Michael Gillespie, an obscure programmer at a Nerds on Call repair store, hundreds of thousands of ransomware victims have recovered their files for free.
The New Target That Enables Ransomware Hackers to Paralyze Dozens of Towns and Businesses at Once
Cybercriminals are zeroing in on the managed service providers that handle computer systems for local governments and medical clinics.
The Extortion Economy: How Insurance Companies Are Fueling a Rise in Ransomware Attacks
Even when public agencies and companies hit by ransomware could recover their files on their own, insurers prefer to pay the ransom. Why? The attacks are good for business.
Sting Catches Another Ransomware Firm — Red Mosquito — Negotiating With “Hackers”
We recently wrote about two U.S. firms that promised high-tech ransomware solutions but instead paid the cyber-attacker. A U.K. company appears to do the same.
The Trade Secret: Firms That Promised High-Tech Ransomware Solutions Almost Always Just Pay the Hackers
As ransomware attacks crippled businesses and law enforcement agencies, two U.S. data recovery firms claimed to offer an ethical way out. Instead, they typically paid the ransom and charged victims extra.
We’re Reporting on Ransomware. Do You Know Something About an Attack?
Has your organization been hit by ransomware? Did you hire a data recovery firm? Do you know how an attack works from the inside? We’d like to hear from you.