Comment by stingraycharles

The article states that it was most likely two different attackers, due to the different methods used and the blackmailer denying responsibility for the comtinued (unsophisticated) attack.

I'm not sure what to think, but I can easily understand why they did pay. It's easy for others to say what would be best for the industry, but when you are the one suffering and your ISP is angry at you, and you can pay a small sum to (possibly) make the problem go away, your opinion will change.