Security experts acknowledge that not paying isn’t feasible for everyone, however. “The exact same argument is made for kidnapping—never give ransom money, it just encourages them,” says Bruce Schneier, a cryptographer and fellow at the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard Law School. “And that argument makes a whole lot of sense until it is your child. When it is your data, you will pay if it is worth it.”

via Malicious “Ransomware” Can Hold Computer Files Hostage: Scientific American.