(NYTIMES) The recent announcement that US law enforcement officials had managed to recover US$2.3 million (S$3.1 million) of the roughly US$4.4 million ransom that Colonial Pipeline paid hackers was a welcome development. But it also raises questions about who should bear the costs of ransom payments as the threat of online extortion grows.

The Colonial Pipeline ransom retrieval sends a strong message to American companies that are hacked that the government can help. This will, hopefully, encourage victims to report these attacks to the authorities.