Bitcoin Forum

Ransomware is booming. Be it Locky, CryptXXX or one of the countless other variants of the data-encrypting malware, cybercriminals are making hundreds of thousands of dollars every month off the back of swathes of infected victims each paying a few hundred dollars each to get access to their files back.
Cybersecurity researchers have warned that ransomware represents the most problematic cyber-threat. The most infamous ransomware attack this year took place at the Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center, with the Los Angeles hospital forced to declare an "internal emergency" after its IT systems were locked down and held to ransom by hackers.

http://www.zdnet.com/article/how-bitcoin-helped-fuel-an-explosion-in-ransomware-attacks/