Although paying ransom often seems preferable to facing business disruptions, payments also embolden the attackers and encourage them to come back for more. “Should ransom payments be banned or even penalized?”The disruptions caused by ransomware attacks can be crippling for businesses. On the other hand, paying ransom rewards criminal behavior, encourages more breaches and elevates the risk of additional attacks, the researchers found. “When imposing a ban, policymakers should be mindful,” he said. “In some cases, you wouldn’t even have to impose the ban, but if you talk a lot about a ban, ransom payers would take notice.