In my view, we must integrate this action on the part of Telegram with all of the other things we know about the situation. That's a tall order, because it means integrating this specific action (paying the $100K) with many other topics, such as the various people making claims, their expertise and possible motivations, computer cryptography and computer security, strategies that companies sometimes use to gain access to personal information, the dangers posed by weak cryptography, etc.

Only when all of the facts square with each other will we have a rational basis for trusting Telegram Messenger and the people behind it.