On June 7, we launched series 4 of “Restricted Intelligence“. Since four seasons is an impressive achievement for any production – especially one only available online and via subscription – we decided to throw ourselves a little launch party. For better or worse (better at the time, worse the next morning), things got a little rowdy. So please pardon us if we whisper through this breakdown of the new series with our hands grasping our heads. We — and our fans — make the most of the rare opportunities we’re allowed to socialize. But series 4 is well worth celebrating and here’s why. Series 4 finds the “RI” team tackling some new territory. In particular, ransomware and a few of its many dreadful varieties. In one episode, we find Lionel has been hit with “individual ransomware.” We won’t spoil the episode, but we will say Lionel reacts in a way a lot of people might with the simple exception that we can laugh at Lionel here.
In this episode, hackers don’t just take control of the network, they leave ransomware in their wake. Unfortunately, just like in real life, hackers target organizations like hospitals who will pay the ransom because it’s urgent. So instead of investigating or finding ways of circumventing the attack, the quickest thing they can do is just to pay the ransom. And the hackers, of course, know this. If they pitch the ransom at a certain price, the hospitals just pay it. Viewers get to learn new ways to avoid such the drama of these attacks without being the victim. But it’s our pleasure. We don’t mind taking one for the team.
This is also the first season where a member of our American cast appears in the UK. Ian gets to enjoy standing out like an American (no offense to our American friends) while he develops a sweet geek romance with one of the app developers. Love is in the air, like the fake Wi-Fi networks Ian’s episode addresses.
Speaking of characters, series 4 sees the return of Ellie from series 1, when she was the only person who knew how social media worked. Ellie has put that social media expertise to good use and has become the VP of Social Media. She’s also developed a superpower that allows her to know who you are, what you’re thinking — even who you voted for. I guess we have Facebook to thank for that.
We’ll stop before we give away too much, but know we’re already thinking about series 5. Our community always does a great job of supplying us with new areas of interest as soon as they come to mind. For example, we’ve had requests for an episode based on a call center in India. And seeing as though we’ve never been to India, maybe we’ll go.
You know, for research.