According to a new report, ransomware attacks are still a major issue for organizations, and many are still choosing to pay the ransom.

Last month the U.S. Justice department announced the takedown of the Darkode (get it? DarkCode – Dark Code?) international cybercrime ring, which the DOJ called one of the “gravest threats” to the security of online data. But what exactly does that mean to you, the average user sitting at home behind your computer?

Most people are familiar, at least in name, if not content, with the Hague and Geneva conventions, even if only from hearing the terms on Hogan’s Heros. Along with outlining how enemy prisoners can and can’t be treated, they are intended, in part, to help protect civilians during times of war, by outlining rules of war – rules for the etiquette of war, if you will – despite that seeming a blatant oxymoron. Some of these rules rise to the level of law, and violations of these laws are considered “war crimes”, and the leaders of countries who don’t follow the rules can be tried in an International War Crimes Tribunal. The big question right now is whether cyberwar, and related cybercrimes, fall under the governance of these rules, and whether they should.