The Home Office has launched a consultation concerning a proposal to introduce legislation aimed at combating the rising threat of ransomware, particularly in relation to vital public services such as hospitals, schools, and railways. The consultation suggests expanding an existing ban on ransomware payments made by government departments, which officials believe will deter threat actors from targeting critical national infrastructure.
The legislation would be designed to achieve three objectives:
- Reduce the flow of money to ransomware criminals from the UK, thereby discouraging attacks on UK organisations;
- Increase the capacity of operational agencies to disrupt and investigate ransomware gangs by improving intelligence related to ransom payments;
- Improve the government's understanding of ransomware threats in order to guide future interventions and foster international cooperation in tackling the issue.
In its legal analysis of the consultation, Stuart Davey, Partner at law firm Pinsent Masons, said: "The UK government’s position has, for some time, been to discourage the payment of ransomware attacks, and, as the consultation documents show, ransomware is only increasing as a societal threat. The UK has been a leading country in global initiatives around ransomware, being a co-lead of the Counter Ransomware Initiative, with Singapore."

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