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Why it is best to pay up in case of ransomware attacks like WannaCry

WannaCry reportedly demanded that companies pay upwards of $300 in Bitcoin

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Micheal Axelsen | The Conversation

Companies hit by ransomware are faced with an ethical dilemma: pay up to save their now-encrypted data, or hold the moral high ground and lose it all.

This is a question many companies may have to face. The recent WannaCry cyber-attack, which targeted the data of organisations including UK hospitals, is part of a growing and lucrative “industry”.

In most cases, the perpetrators attempt to encrypt a business’s data and then refuse to share the decryption key unless a ransom is paid. WannaCry reportedly demanded that companies