Ransomware was the obvious culprit, albeit we have not received official word on which type has been used. As is the case with any Bitcoin ransomware infection, there is an option just to pay the fee and restore file access. The NASCAR team decided to do so and paid US$500 in Bitcoin to restore their files. It is important to note paying this fee is no guarantee files will be recovered. However, it appears the team got lucky.
http://fintechist.com/nascar-team-bitcoin-ransomware/
http://fintechist.com/nascar-team-bitcoin-ransomware/
It is true payment of the ransom does no quarantee recovery of the files. Many who have fallen victim of the scams have paid the ransoms but never recovered their files. the only option to beat these guys is to have an effective back-up system. With this, you can get back most of your files without having to pay ransom to get back your files.
