> I think if paying the ransom was made more explicitly illegal, the ransomware operators would probably converge on not outing their clients. At least for now.

> I think if paying the ransom was made more explicitly illegal, the ransomware operators would probably converge on not outing their clients. At least for now. Or they can threaten to release your information and demand more ransom to keep your information a secret. If you stop paying they'll make it public making what you did illegal.