BY THE EDITORIAL PAGE STAFF OF THE FREE LANCE-STAR THE CONVENTIONAL wisdom that you donât pay ransom money because it just rewards the kidnappers and encourages them to do it again is apparently out the window when it comes to computerized kidnapping of major infrastructure. Bloomberg first reported last Thursday that the Georgia-based Colonial Pipeline Co. paid hackers $5 million in untraceable cryptocurrency after they shut down the nationâs largest gas pipeline, forcing major gasoline and jet fuel shortages along the entire East Coast. That included Virginiaâwhere GasBuddy reported that 52 percent of the commonwealthâs stations found themselves out of gas on Wednesday.