protos.com
The UK government is planning to ban public sector bodies, including schools and the NHS, from paying crypto ransomware payments to cyber criminals.
That’s according to a consultation launched today by the Home Office. The idea behind the move is to make these institutions unattractive targets for hackers.
In addition, private companies such as utilities providers, and victims of ransomware attacks would be required to report every ransomware incident according to the new consultation.
Read more: Up to 10% of Southern Water customer data stolen by bitcoin ransom group
In 2021, Britain’s former cybersecurity chief said that businesses paying ransomware attackers, often in cryptocurrency, are inadvertently funding organized crime and that the situation is “close to getting out of control.”
According to today’s announcement, 13 ransomware incidents, part of the 430 cyber incidents that took place between September 2023 and August 2024, “posed serious harm to essential services or the wider economy.”
Security Minister Dan Jarvis said, “With an estimated $1 billion flowing to ransomware criminals globally in 2023, it is vital we act to protect national security as a key foundation upon which this government’s Plan for Change is built.”
Last year, the UK’s National Crime Agency helped disrupt the criminal organization Lockbit last year. The ransomware group is attributed to the data leak of Evolve Bank and Trust.