In the UK, the public sector bans paying for ransomware

The UK is moving forward by banning the public sector and the key national infrastructure operators that pay for ransomware demand.

The proposal, released Tuesday, was announced as a result of public consultations to ban ransomware payments covering all public sector agencies and key national infrastructure such as energy, health services and local councils, expanding existing bans in the government sector.

Other parts of the proposal include a prevention regime that requires victims and businesses to report the event that they are subject to the ban when they intend to pay the ransom.

A mandatory threshold-based reporting system that requires victims to record important government details within 72 hours of the attack, as well as a more detailed analysis within 28 days of the table.

British Security Minister Dan Jarvis said the Home Office is “determined to crush the cybercrime business model and protect the services that we all rely on,” working “in collaboration with the industry to promote these measures.”

sauce: and Jarvis

Ransomware is malicious software that encrypts a computer or network and blocks access until the total is paid. This is usually required in cryptocurrency.

Ransomware declined last year, and reported by Chain Analysis in February that ransomware attacks fell 35% last year compared to 2023.

In June, Certik said the majority of Crypto’s losses this year were due to wallet compromises and phishing attacks.

Most people agree to the prohibition and divide it into penalties

The UK Department of Home Affairs discussed the proposals from January 14th to April 8th and received 273 responses. 57% are identified as organizations, 39% and 4% are classified as others.

Almost three-quarters agreed that a ban on ransomware payments was guaranteed, but more than one in five people disagree. There was also a mix of opinions on the prevention regime, with almost half of them supporting a ban on ransomware payments across the economy.

The third proposal for a threshold-based reporting system saw 63% of respondents take advantage, with less than half (41%) agreeing to continue with the current voluntary reporting system.

The key to the dispute was the possibility of penalties for victims who violated the measures. Respondents agreed to use penalties across all suggestions. However, concerns have been raised about criminalizing victims and whether criminal or civil penalty is appropriate.

Respondents agreed that penalties were required, but what kind of opinions were mixed together. sauce: UK Home Office

The Home Office said that “we will continue to explore the most appropriate and proportional penalties” due to the mixed feedback on penalties.

The UK flags ransomware as an imminent threat

The UK’s 2024 National Cybersecurity Centre’s annual review was released in December, and found ransomware attacks “continuing to be the most immediate and destructive threat.”

According to the review, in June 2024, a ransomware attack on the Pathology Institute delayed Synnovis’ elective procedures and outpatient appointments. Another attack on October 28, 2023 put the UK Library’s online system in danger.

UK Library CEO Rebecca Lawrence said in a statement Tuesday that the library “holds one of the world’s most important collections of human knowledge,” and that the attack “continues to destroy our technology infrastructure and affect our users.”

Australia will implement mandatory reports to cut funding for cyberattack disclosure rules

U.S. House Republicans on Monday attempted to cut the Securities and Exchange Commission’s 2026 budget by 7% and included provisions blocking funds to enforce rules that require public companies to disclose cyber incidents within four days.

In November, Australia enacted a law that came into effect in May, requiring an Australian dollar to over $3 million ($1.9 million) annual revenue and an entities responsible for critical infrastructure reporting ransomware requests.

The country had previously considered whether ransomware payments should be illegal after a cyberattack violated consumer lender latitude finance, but was denied at the time.