UCSF admits it paid NetWalker more than $1M ransom
Why isn&#x27;t paying ransom illegal?<p>Points:<p>* Anytime any ransom is paid it is in the most literal sense funding ransom, even more directly than funding terror in the most direct way possible: when you send a check to ISIS that may or may not <i>actually</i> fund terror.  Maybe whoever you sent it to is just good at making an ISIS recruitment page and doesn&#x27;t do much real terror, just marketing.<p>* But paying a ransom by definition directly funds ransom, far more directly than sending money to ISIS directly funds terror.<p>* Whoever gets the money at ISIS might spend it at a brothel, there&#x27;s no proof of terror.<p>* But whoever gets your ransom when you are ransomed by definition engages in ransom.<p>* You are funding ransom by definition.<p>* Additionally, since all rich nations are generally pretty law-abiding, making paying a ransom strongly illegal means that the companies have no choice.  They&#x27;re simply not able to write the check or wire the funds.<p>* Finally, another strong reason to make it illegal: anyone could claim falsely to be ransomed.  If I wanted to fund ISIS I could literally write on a piece of paper which messages to send me in what sequence, and then I could send them money and claim falsely to be ransomed by them.<p>* Paying a ransom should be strongly illegal.<p>* Also note that this is a good analogy with &quot;possession of stolen goods&quot; - the fact that such is a crime largely destroys the market for stolen goods.  The market would be much stronger if possession of stolen goods weren&#x27;t a crime.<p>* There is an argument made about direct consequences: &quot;But if we don&#x27;t pay they will <i>actually</i> kill my daughter!&quot;  The same argument applies directly to paying bribes: &quot;But if we don&#x27;t pay, we <i>actually</i> can&#x27;t get a license to sell in that country!&quot;  Still, paying bribes abroad for routine administrative work is <i>illegal</i>.  Companies can&#x27;t do it.  If they do it, they get fined.  Result?  1) (immediately) companies stop doing it. 2) administrators stop requiring it.<p>The world becomes free of bribery.  This proves that making paying bribes illegal <i>works</i>.<p>Why wouldn&#x27;t it work for making ransoms illegal? UCSF just funded a ransomist $1M.  That should be illegal.<p>The going rate for a thug in a third world country might be $800 per month.  UCSF just paid for one thousand two hundred and fifty man-months of abduction.