Should You Pay the Ransom to Restore Ransomware-Infected System

If you are reading this, you are likely dealing with a ransomware attack right now or have just been through one.

Your systems may be locked, files inaccessible, and your business operations may be at a standstill.

And under that pressure, you’re bound to think, “Should I just pay the ransom and move on?”

In the previous articles in our series on ransomware, we explained what is ransomware, types of ransomware, how ransomware encryption works, and how to respond to a ransomware attack.

One thing we deliberately did not expand on was the idea of paying the ransom itself.

Based on our decades-long experience as India’s leading Ransomware Data Recovery specialists, and looking at the advisories from government backed security agencies and the steady guidelines from independent cybersecurity consultancies worldwide, the conclusion is remarkably uniform:

Don’t pay the ransom!

Below, we explain why.

Why Paying the Ransom Does Not Restore a Ransomware-Infected System

1. Payment Does Not Guarantee Data Recovery

The common misconception we see among all clients who consult us is that paying automatically means getting your data back.

But that’s not how ransomware works in practice. Independent research consistently shows how futile it is to pay the ransom.

An Enterprise Strategy Group (ESG) study found that only 16% of organizations that paid recovered 100% of their data.
Even more worrisome is the stat that of the companies that did pay the ransom, 85% received further ransom demands, and 57% ended up paying the additional ransom.
Other industry studies conclude that only 7% (1 out of 14) of victims who give in to ransom demands successfully recover their data.

There are two main reasons for this.

Attackers have every incentive to simply disappear after receiving payment, which means they don’t give you any decryption tool at all.
The decryption tool they provide may be incomplete or incorrectly generated, and hence, may not be able to decrypt your infected data.

Even if you were to pay the ransom despite these uncertainties, other threats still loom.

2. Threat of Double Extortion

Even worse, modern ransomware attacks are done with the intent of double extortion.

This means that cybercriminals will copy your data before encryption. They may ask for another ransom to delete their version of the data or simply sell the data on the dark web.

While these damages may ensue even if you don’t pay the ransom, the point is that paying up does not solve your problems either.

3. Risk of Broken Decryptors

Even when attackers provide a “working” decryptor, you assume a serious risk by using it.

Most ransomware decryptors are:

Poorly coded
Rushed
Not tested across different file systems, RAID layouts, or virtual environments

As a result, decryptors frequently:

Corrupt files during decryption
Crash mid process, leaving data in an unrecoverable state
Fail on large databases or virtual disk files

4. Risk of Malicious Decryptors

There is another risk that is often overlooked: reinfection. Decryptors are executable tools supplied by the attacker. Running them inside your environment can:

Re introduce malware components
Reactivate backdoors or scheduled tasks
Leave hidden persistence mechanisms behind

From a recovery perspective, this directly works against efforts to fix ransomware damage and prevent ransomware reinfection.

In many cases we see, systems appear “restored” but are compromised again weeks later because the original persistence was never removed.

5. Legal and Compliance Implications Do Not Disappear

Paying the ransom also does not close the incident from a legal or compliance standpoint. Even after payment:

The organization has still suffered a confirmed security breach.
Regulatory disclosure obligations still remain to be fulfilled.
Cyber insurance providers still require forensic validation.
Audit trails and evidence preservation are still expected.

In some jurisdictions, paying certain ransomware groups may expose organizations or executives to penalties if the attackers are linked to sanctioned entities.

In India, reporting and coordination with national cyber advisory bodies such as CERT-In is a standard part of incident handling for many sectors. You can do away with these responsibilities even if you choose to pay the ransom.

Why It Is Better to Contact a Professional Ransomware Data Recovery Service

The most obvious question here is that if paying is unreliable and risky, what is the safer alternative? We strongly recommend that you consult a reputable ransomware data recovery service.

As a qualified ransomware recovery team, we at Stellar Data Recovery approach the problem differently.

We preserve forensic evidence before any restoration begins.
We work only on copies of encrypted data, never the originals.
We assess whether forensic recovery or free decryptors are available.
We identify persistence mechanisms that cause reinfection.
We rebuild systems using secure recovery methods such as verified system image recovery or clean OS reinstall processes.

Most importantly, we focus on restoring systems safely, not just quickly. That is how long term stability is achieved and repeat attacks are prevented.

The Bottom Line

We understand the fear and urgency ransomware creates, but paying the ransom is not a reliable solution.

Real data recovery after a ransomware attack is a much more disciplined process. It involves understanding what happened, preserving evidence, restoring systems correctly, and closing the door attackers used to get in.

If your goal is to restore a ransomware infected system safely and recover systems after a ransomware attack without repeating the damage, contact Stellar Data Recovery immediately.

At Stellar, that is the approach we follow every time.

Ransomware doesn’t always mean data is lost forever. These real cases show how encrypted data was successfully recovered by Stellar without paying the ransom: