UK ban on ransom payments could turn solvable attacks into catastrophes
17/11/2025 | Financial Times
The UK government's plans to implement the world's first ban on critical national infrastructure operators paying ransoms to hackers have been met with warnings that the measure could lead to the collapse of essential services. The measures, announced by the Home Office in July, aim to deter cyber criminals by eliminating their leverage over regulated entities such as hospitals and airports.
However, companies and cyber groups caution that banning payments removes a valuable negotiation tool when highly sensitive data or essential services are compromised. Legal experts warn that the ban could turn a solvable crisis into a catastrophic one, forcing businesses to break the law or risk system failure. Cyber experts also maintain that criminal groups will continue attacks regardless of the law, potentially leading to more severe assaults and a shift toward monetising stolen data.
£ - This article requires a subscription.
What is this page?
You are reading a summary article on the Privacy Newsfeed, a free resource for DPOs and other professionals with privacy or data protection responsibilities helping them stay informed of industry news all in one place. The information here is a brief snippet relating to a single piece of original content or several articles about a common topic or thread. The main contributor is listed in the top left-hand corner, just beneath the article title.
The Privacy Newsfeed monitors over 300 global publications, of which more than 6,250 summary articles have been posted to the online archive dating back to the beginning of 2020. A weekly roundup is available by email every Friday.