UK Government launches ransomware protection proposals

Date:
Tue, 14 Jan 2025 11:12:00 +0000

Description:
Hospitals, railways and other services are at risk of ransomware attacks, but new proposals look to protect them.

FULL STORY

The UK Government is introducing a consultation on proposals to protect
British businesses and infrastructure from the increasing threat of
ransomware attacks.

Consultations on the proposals will launch now and will be heard until early April 2025, and include a targeted ban on ransomware payments for the public sector, a ransomware incident reporting regime, and a ransomware payment prevention regime for victims.

The need for protections is evident, with research finding 90% of
cyberattacks between April 2023 and March 2024 were politically motivated, which leaves critical infrastructure most vulnerable, as has been seen with frequent recent breaches of healthcare targets, including an NHS childrens hospital .

Unattractive targets

The average cost of a ransomware attack has soared, with recent research claiming such incidents cost UK companies roughly 44 billion over the last
five years.

The aims of the proposal are to dissuade attackers from targeting critical infrastructure by placing a ban on paying ransom demands, disrupting the cybercriminals source of income. This means that local authorities, schools, and hospitals will be amongst those forbidden from paying - and would be obliged to report any intrusions.

The National Cyber Security Centres (NCSC) managed 430 cyber incidents
between September 2023 and August 2024, which included 13 nationally significant ransomware attacks, deemed to have posed serious harm to
essential services or the wider economy.

"Driving down cyber crime is central to this governments missions to reduce crime, deliver growth, and keep the British people safe," said Security Minister Dan Jarvis.

"With an estimated $1bn flowing to ransomware criminals globally in 2023, it
is vital we act to protect national security as a key foundation upon which this Governments Plan for Change is built. These proposals help us meet the scale of the ransomware threat, hitting these criminal networks in their wallets and cutting off the key financial pipeline they rely upon to
operate."

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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/pro/security/uk-government-launches-ransomware-prote ction-proposals

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