To pay or not to pay? Ransomware attacks are the new kidnapping

Over the past several years, ransomware attacks have become a persistent national security threat. The inability to respond effectively to this challenge has normalised what should be intolerable: organised cybercriminals harboured by hostile states regularly disrupting and extorting businesses and essential services, causing misery in the process. Following last year’s cyberattacks against Optus and Medibank, the Australian government has signalled its willingness to address one of the thorniest and most contentious questions in cyber policy: whether to ban ransomware payments....