"Four States Propose Laws to Ban Ransomware Payments"

Following the ransomware attacks on Colonial Pipeline and top meat producer JBS, some government officials have called on Congress and the administration to ban organizations from making ransom payments to threat actors. The goal of such a ban would be to codify the FBI's current advice: Don't pay ransomware attackers lest you encourage more of the same. Despite some support at the federal level, most members of Congress don't seem to embrace the idea of an outright ban fully. But the picture is different at the state level. So far, four states have five pending pieces of legislation that would either ban paying a ransom or substantially restrict paying it. New York stands alone in terms of barring private sector businesses from paying a ransom. Legislatures in North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Texas are all considering bills that would prohibit the use of state and local taxpayer money or other public money to pay a ransom payment. This public money prohibition would likely hamstring local governments from paying off ransomware attackers.

CSO Online reports: "Four States Propose Laws to Ban Ransomware Payments"