The UK government has launched a consultation to explore the possibility of a nationwide ban to prevent operators of critical national infrastructure from succumbing to the demands of ransomware cybercriminals. In a proposal on January 14, the Home Office proposed a "targeted ban" on ransomware payments for all public sector agencies and critical national infrastructure (such as energy, health services and local councils), expanding the existing ban on government departments.
British Security Secretary Dan Jarvis said the move is aimed at cutting off the source of ransoms for cybercriminals and thus protecting national security.
He said: "These proposals will help us address the scale of the ransomware threat, hit the wallets of these criminal networks, and cut off the key funding channels on which they rely to operate."
In January 2023, the Royal Mail suffered a cyberattack, which brought the international transportation of parcels and letters to its branches to a standstill; in August 2022, the Advanced Computer Software Group, a provider of medical service software, suffered a cyberattack, which resulted in the leakage of personal data of nearly 83,000 people. The government office also said that as of August 2024, the National Cybersecurity Center handled 430 cyber incidents, including 13 incidents of "national significance" that "caused serious damage to essential services or the economy as a whole." (Cointelegraph)
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