“Affiliates were expected to find their own victims and set their own ransom demands. Some preferred to cast as wide a net as possible, using networks of compromised computers called botnets to infect many computers at once. Others preferred to chase high-value targets like rich individuals or critical services — think hospitals or government agencies — that might be willing to pay much higher ransoms to regain access to their systems.” In case you were wondering, here’s how to run a Russian hacking ring.s