Originally published at: http://boingboing.net/2016/12/13/how-lloyds-of-london-solved-th.html
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Sounds just like our debtors prisons, er jail system.
o_0 in what way?
If this business model proves profitable, we’re all probably soon going to be getting a second “health insurance” bill to cover data ransoming. Or perhaps the cost to the hospital will just be itemized in our bill next to the $10 tylenol. Why waste society’s money on effective security infrastructure when you can make society money with financial innovation!
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innovate to regain control
From the Department of Innocuous Deadly Phrases
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There’s an idea: what if kidnappers become obligated to provide health care for the people they’re ransoming?
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late stage capitalism.
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To be fair, Lloyd’s were selling piracy insurance in the 17th century. 'twas ever thus.
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Let them kill the kidnappee. Nobody’s important enough to establish a profitable precedent. Are you going to put up the cash to rescue the next scion?
Pay the Danegeld and you’ll never be rid of the Dane.
No offense to any modern day Danes. I’d volunteer to be kidnapped to Denmark in about six weeks.
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In one sense, I agree. It gives kidnappers an incentive to kidnap people, which is bad.
On the other hand, it gives pirates and such, who are going to attack anyway, an incentive to keep their targets alive.
And compared to the multimillion-dollar ransoms, the sums involved seem rather paltry. Would you balk at paying $100 to retrieve a hostage? $10? $1?
It seems to be a similar moral argument to bribery. Yes, it’s wrong to offer someone money to do their job, but, in some places, that’s the way of life, and you’re not going to do anything but hurt yourself by refusing to pay the bribe.
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