Last May, in one of the most brazen attacks ever attempted, cybercriminals from Eastern Europe shut down the supply of gasoline to most of the east coast of the United States. Past the many millions of people affected, and the many millions of dollars lost, it was a message: that ransomware can have world-altering consequences.

It wasn't that long ago that ransomware didn't even exist. How did we get to this point? And is there any way to stop this most popular trend in cybercrime, before it's too late?