Why anyone would use anything from Microsoft after the numerous successful attacks on their software is beyond my comprehension.
Because MS software comes on most computers and it’s fairly easy to use.
I don’t think that is the real problem, but the many evil people are.
Some think that the attack they are talking about was by N. Korea.
I think a more pertinent question is why MSFT OS is so easy to crack. How should it even be possible that some loaded software could lock up the entire system, with no remedy?
I don’t honestly know how these blackmail viruses function, but long ago I separated all my data files to a separate physical disk from that of the OS. The OS and key programs are located on the boot drive. In theory one should be able to pull the boot drive for a clean new drive and reinstall the OS without losing data. And for me personally, I am not using cloud so I sync 2 computers with a 3rd portable drive which I also take with me for use on the laptop when I travel. In other words the data is in 3 separate physical locations. Though that is not practical for most home users, separating the OS drive from the “Documents” is fairly straightforward as I’m sure you know.
But I presume the targets of these ransomeware viruses are institutions. I don’t know which of them rely on MSFT OS. A lot of them run off specialized software from IBM, Oracle, etc. One would think they could segregate and back up the data separately from the OS and if someone were to fry the brains, it would be fairly straightforward to swap components without losing the data. Obviously many of the targets in government are incompetent that they had years of advance warning of these kinds of attacks and took no steps to inoculate themselves or have physical backups of data locked away. Just another reason why government services should be outsourced.