It really bugs me when I hear of institutions paying these ransoms.
Regardless of the damage, I'd just take the bullet, fix my security, and not pay. Be consistent in this, and keep it up for a while. Long term: no more extortion for anyone.
Regardless of the damage, I'd just take the bullet, fix my security, and not pay. Be consistent in this, and keep it up for a while. Long term: no more extortion for anyone.
It's irrational to "bite the bullet" if the damage is significantly greater than the ransom.
Sure, it's better in the long term, but not for the person/organization being ransomed.
It's not irrational. It's called doing the right thing.
Sure, it's better in the long term, but not for the person/organization being ransomed.
That's called being selfish. One would expect an institution like UCSF to act for the benefit of all of society and not like a six-year-old grabbing all the Easter eggs at the hunt and saying, "I got mine!"
I am sure you would agree that gender-based abortion, deforestation, and infinite copyright periods could be seen as "rational" to people in certain societies and certain economic situations. It doesn't mean that we should let such actions go without comment.
Doing the right thing isn't always rational from a direct comparison of objective metrics.
It can take a lot money (well spent, so that's fine) and time (which can be devastating) to recover the compromised system.