What would a reality look like in which cryptocurrency did not exist to create the financial incentive for these attacks? Assuming the same lack of security exploited by ransomware also exists in this reality, how would the attacks differ? Would the attacks be less common or cease to exist because the financial motivation to do so no longer exists? In which case, wouldn’t that indirectly prolong the existence of insecure and exploitable systems?

Personally, I think there will be a long-term positive change in the tech world as a result of the recent rise in ransomeware. I think it has forced companies to reevaluate their security practices in an unprecedentedly serious way.