Cybereason’s study found that the majority of organizations that chose to pay ransom demands in the past were not immune to subsequent ransomware attacks, often by the same threat actors. In fact, 80% of organizations that paid the ransom were hit by a second attack, and almost half were hit by the same threat group. https://venturebeat.com/2021/06/16/cybereason-80-of-orgs-that-paid-the-ransom-were-hit-again/
It is nothing new. It is the way of the world. People who get sucked in by pump and dump stocks scams are put on a list which gets passed around. They are known to be easy marks. Some get fooled many times until they lose all their money.
Even the Israelis give in to repeated outrageous ransom demands by terrorists in order to get their people back or even just their dead bodies. Of course there is one difference. The Israelis continually neutralize these enemies wherever they happen to be.
We can thank the NSA for this,they put back-doors on all hardware & software, the programs they use for this have been leaked. Edward Snowden warned this would happen years ago. "Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety." Ben Franklin
What happens to "we do not negotiate with the terrorists"?? There is a reason why that policy is there.