Many organizations that are ill-prepared for ransomware attacks are forced to pay the ransom in order to unlock their files and return to their normal business procedures. However, the US Department of Treasury has published an official advisory that warns that payments made to specific persons or to any person living in certain countries could subject the payer to financial penalties levied by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). Under law, U.S. citizens are prohibited from engaging directly or indirectly in transactions with certain peoples, countries, or organizations. Those prohibited are listed on the OFAC's Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List and include Cuba, Iran, North Korea, and other countries or regions, and the Treasury Department has been adding several known cyber-threat groups to its designation list. And now the OFAC is threatening organizations that pay a ransom to persons on the list would be liable to civil penalties and fines. Should this apply to paying a ransom to unlock computers