I am absolutely astounded by what this report from F-Secure says. It makes the “gangs” seem like companies being graded on their customer service after hacking your computer:

Ransomware criminals actually care about your convenience. That’s according to a recent experiment detailed in a new F-Secure report, Evaluating the Customer Journey of Crypto-Ransomware and the Paradox Behind It. The experiment involved evaluating the “customer experience” of five current crypto-ransomware variants, beginning with the initial ransom screen all the way to interacting with the ransomware criminals behind each of those variants.

The report’s findings include:

• Those families with the most professional user interfaces are not necessarily also those with the best customer service.
• Crypto-ransomware gangs are usually willing to negotiate the price. Three out of four variants were willing to negotiate, averaging a 29 percent discount from the original ransom fee.
• Ransomware deadlines are not necessarily “set in stone.” 100 percent of the groups contacted granted extensions on the deadlines.
• One of the groups claimed to be hired by a corporation to hack another corporation — a kid playing a prank, or a sinister new threat actor?