The only surprising thing is it has taken so long to become a reality. I remember reading an article in Omni magazine several decades ago when public-key encryption was becoming a reality. The article was an interview with someone in the encryption/security field at that time, though I don't remember who.

What stuck out was the person being interviewed mentioned the exact scenario that if he couldn't crack a competitor's encryption, he could re-encrypt the data and hold the key for ransom.