The UK government and law enforcement does not encourage or condone paying ransomware demands. This is because there’s no guarantee the perpetrators will restore access to your devices and files, and you’ll be giving money to criminals who are likely to target you and others again. Instead, it is recommended that you report the incident using the government’s dedicated portal, which will direct you to the correct organisation for dealing with the crime. This may be Action Fraud, the UK’s reporting centre for fraud and cyber crime. It is then recommended you undertake an overhaul of your system, as we discussed above in the section on dealing with malware.