If paying the ransom doesn't stop your data getting leaked, nobody will pay the ransom. There is a rational basis for the ransomers to follow through with the deletion. Even the mob did provide "protection" when they coerced you into paying for it.

This sounds like a naive presumption. Are ransomware distributors well known for operating within strict hierarchies bound by culturally-ingrained traditions, or acting in the best interests of their own “greater good”?

Last I heard, teenagers can deploy ransomware with minimal technical knowledge or skill.

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