> In the late 1980s, criminals were already holding encrypted files hostage in exchange for cash sent via the postal service. One of the first ransomware attacks ever documented was the AIDS trojan (PC Cyborg Virus) that was released via floppy disk in 1989. Victims needed to send $189 to a P.O. box in Panama to restore access to their systems, even though it was a simple virus that utilized symmetric cryptography.
nl|3 years ago
https://www.crowdstrike.com/cybersecurity-101/ransomware/his...
Note that in 1989 Panama was a narco-state, so running a scheme like this via there made some sense.