Not have the suckers lost their data. Now must they be a criminals for paying the ransom?
Yes. Why?
Because they should have and easily could have set-up a proper backup system to protect their data, as well as ensured that they had defence's in place to prevent loss in the first place.
The ransom payer is at least partially responsible. The payer is not as responsible as the criminal or threat actor who demands the ransom, who could be using ransomware payments to expand his criminal activities, to improve his attack technology, to finance other crimes and threats such as terrorism, drugs, human trafficking and more. Those who have paid this ransom which have fueled the resolve of the criminals allowing the attacks continue.

Any computer user with data of value to themselves or others should ensure that their anti-virus software is current and effective, and if needed, invest in something that is such as Barkly behavior based detection. Additionally they should ensure that they have proper backups that are vaulted, versioned and verified such as BaQapp. The only mitigating factor against prosecution if caught paying illegal ransom would be that you had taken reasonable precautions to protect your data.

According to Bradley Barth on Friday 8 July 2016 in PC&TECH AUTHORITY, 'Eleanor' Mac malware opens Tor connection for attackers to spy on and control Macs. Read more: http://www.scmagazineuk.com/eleanor-mac-malware-opens-tor-connection-for-attackers-to-spy-on-and-control-macs/article/508013/#ixzz4DmT7SKDx.

"Named Eleanor (or Backdoor.MAC.Eleanor), the malware arrives disguised as a drag-and-drop file conversion application called the EasyDoc Converter, which is found on many credible third-party sites, according to an analysis from Bitdefender, whose security researchers uncovered the malware. The program is neither verified nor digitally signed by Apple.

In reality, the program's true purpose is far more malevolent, granting cyber-criminals or cyber-spies a backdoor connection that allows them to manipulate files, execute commands and scripts (including at the root level), penetrate firewall defenses, administer databases, discover applications running on a machine, and send emails with attached files. The malware also uses a webcam control panel tool to capture images and videos from built-in webcams, as well as a daemon agent that collects infection information, fetches and updates computer files; and executes shell scripts, reported Bitdefender. Such capabilities could easily allow attackers to silently spy on their victims or turn an infected device into a bot that spreads malware to additional machines. All of this is possible because the malware secretly creates a backdoor in an infected Mac and installs a Tor hidden service that essentially connects the computer to a local server called Web Service, which acts as a C&C center."

So why do less than 25% PCs have proper strong backups which include vaulting, versioning, verifying and vigilance?
Is the information in your computers of so little value that you do not need to ensure that it can be easily replaced? Don't your photos, emails from friends and associates, contacts, correspondence and accounting records need to be safe?
Simple backup to an attached USB drive or thumb drive is easy, but limited in its ability to protect you against ransomware which will spread to attached mapped drives (those with a letter).

If your data is valuable to you, if you want to be able to restore your computer completely and easily if lost, failure or ransomware. You need BaQapp with vaulted storage that cannot be infected, versioning to enable recovery from before any infection, with automatic and independently verified backups. It's lots cheaper than your car insurance!

"Futility, or the Wreck of the Titan" is an 1898 novella written by Morgan Robertson. The story features the fictional ocean liner Titan, which sinks in the North Atlantic after striking an iceberg. Following the Titanic's sinking, some people credited Robertson with clairvoyance. Robertson denied this, claiming the similarities were explained by his extensive knowledge of shipbuilding and maritime trends.

You don't need to be a clairvoyant to know how fragile the data is in your computers. You don't need extensive knowledge of computers to know about the prevalence and dangers of ransomware.

Ransomware is just one real threat to all the information stored in your computer, and without strong backup, like the Titanic you are headed to disaster. If your data is valuable to you, if you want to be able to restore your computer completely and easily if lost, failure or ransomware, you need BaQapp with vaulted storage, versioning, with automatic and independently verified backups.

So why do less than 25% PCs have proper strong backups which include vaulting, versioning, verifying and vigilance?
Is the information in your computers of so little value that you do not need to ensure that it can be easily replaced? Don't your photos, emails from friends and associates, contacts, correspondence and accounting records need to be safe?
Simple backup to an attached USB drive or thumb drive is easy, but limited in its ability to protect you against ransomware which will spread to attached mapped drives (those with a letter).

If your data is valuable to you, if you want to be able to restore your computer completely and easily if lost, failure or ransomware. You need BaQapp with vaulted storage that cannot be infected, versioning to enable recovery from before any infection, with automatic and independently verified backups. It's lots cheaper than your car insurance!

If your hard drives are more than 3 years old, then there is about a 10% chance of failure each year. Fortunately it does not go above 10% each year till the 5th year, which means that 50% of drives will have failed by then. Is that good enough for you? One problem is that, like a car that is used locally and then taken into the country for a road trip, any extra use like a video is more likely to cause failure.