A fair point, Sleepless. And this question must have been asked countless times throughout history by the people who invented any new weapon. I know the invention of the atomic bomb caused many people, notably Albert Einstein, much angst and soul searching. But the other question I would pose is: What happens if we don't do anything to defend ourselves? Will these people stop creating viruses and malware?
History teaches us that they do not. Your seeming reluctance to adopt an effective response to the poisoners is, I would say, their greatest weapon against us.
This is a classic scenario which has been picked up again and again by novelists and movie makers. The nice guy refuses to descend to the bad guy's level, turning the other cheek and hoping the evil-doer will go away. Eventually, the penny drops. The bad guys will not simply go away, they must be attacked with their own weapons.
What I just described is the plot of Shane, High Noon, The Magnificent Seven and all those Charles Bronson movies the names of which escape me at the moment. And, do you remember how good it felt, how the cinema audience cheered when the hero pulled his gunbelt from under the bed and strapped it on? Now he was going to do what he knew he should have done at the start...fight fire with fire.
He who turns the other cheek only gets another slap.
Anyway, it's not as if we're teaching them anything new, is it? They already know how to create viruses and malware. They are doing it now, while we debate the nicities of the matter.