During the heyday of al-Qaeda, Islamic State and their murderous thugs, British and American leaders banned ransom payments to terrorists. The logic, however painful in cases of life and death, was obvious: criminality could not be rewarded or incentivised.
This hard-headed approach stands in contrast to the apparently sanguine attitude of British policymakers to the computer thugs hanging out in Russia. Their business is not kidnapping humans but computer networks and data.
“Ransomware” is a massive criminal industry worth over $20 billion a year globally. Criminals charge victims for access to their data and a promise not to publish. They have shut down hospitals, energy supplies and grocery chains. Faced with a crisis, scared companies pay. And it’s perfectly legal. British companies are also the
