American business leaders are looking for advice on how to deal with ransomware - a kind of software designed to seize a computer system until money is paid.The question is whether payments should be made for ransomware attacks.But the U.S. government has not yet given clear rules or policies on the issue.Eric Goldstein is a top cybersecurity official in the Department of Homeland Security.Goldstein told a congressional hearing last week, "It is the position of the U.S. government that we strongly discourage the payment of ransoms."Discourage means to try to make people not want to do something.Goldstein told lawmakers that paying a ransom does not guarantee that you will get your data back or that stolen files will be safe.He added even if the criminals keep their word, the money will be used to pay for the next round of attacks.But current laws do not punish business for making ransomware payments.Refusing to make the payments would be bad for businesses, however, especially for small and medium-sized companies.
