[mothered]

Colonial paid the 75 BTC bounty, which at the time was worth ~$5 million. While it's not advisable to not pay ransoms, sometimes it works out.

I think a given company needs to calculate the ransom amount requested, against current and future financial loss.

If the latter outweighs the former to a significant extent and provided the attacker Is true to his word, paying the ransom Is understandable.