In 2021, North Carolina became the first state to prohibit public ransomware payments, even going so far as to ban negotiations with cyber criminals. It was a groundbreaking move. Florida followed suit in 2022, but its legislation took a less stringent approach, covering a narrower range of entities and omitting some of the stricter provisions found in North Carolina’s law.
North Carolina and Florida’s bans are the only ones that exist at the state level, but they have ignited a nationwide conversation about the best way to combat this pervasive cyber threat. Years later, experts still haven’t come to a unified conclusion about whether it’s the right approach. The heart of the matter lies in a moral and fiscal dilemma: Should governments refuse to fund criminal enterprises, even when the alternative could mean crippling disruptions to essential services like hospitals, schools and public safety?
Read more…
Source: Government Technology
Related:
- Cyberattacks climbing across Caribbean
March 28, 2025
Ransomware gangs FOG and Akira continue to be the main culprits behind a number of recent cyberattacks plaguing businesses locally and across the Caribbean, a cyber-security expert has indicated. According to Rory Ebanks, director of cybersecurity at Symptai Consulting Limited, the two ransomware gangs, which both emerged in the last three years, primarily exploit vulnerabilities in ...
- Ukraine state railway says online services partially restored after cyber attack
March 27, 2025
Ukraine’s state-owned railway Ukrzaliznytsia, the country’s largest carrier, has partially restored online services after a large-scale cyber attack hit passenger and freight transport systems, the company said on Thursday. An outage was first reported on Sunday when the rail company notified passengers about a failure in its IT system and told them to buy tickets on ...
- Australia: Identity of hacker behind NSW court website data breach unknown
March 26, 2025
Authorities say they do not know who is behind a data breach at the NSW Department of Communities and Justice (DCJ) in which thousands of sensitive files were accessed. NSW government officials confirmed about 9,000 sensitive court files, including domestic violence orders and affidavits, were accessed from the NSW Online Reigstry last week. Attorney-General Michael Daley ...
- UK supermarket Morrisons’ sales growth slows after cyber attack
March 26, 2025
British supermarket group Morrisons’ sales growth slowed in its first quarter, reflecting a previously flagged cyber attack at its technology provider which disrupted its operations. The UK’s fifth largest grocer, which has been owned by U.S. private equity firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice since 2021, said on Wednesday its like-for-like sales rose 2.1% in its quarter ...
- Operation ForumTroll: APT attack with Google Chrome zero-day exploit chain
March 25, 2025
In mid-March 2025, Kaspersky technologies detected a wave of infections by previously unknown and highly sophisticated malware. In all cases, infection occurred immediately after the victim clicked on a link in a phishing email, and the attackers’ website was opened using the Google Chrome web browser. No further action was required to become infected. All malicious ...
- KLIA operations not affected after Malaysian airport hit by cyber attack
March 25, 2025
Operations at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) were not affected by a cyber attack by hackers who demanded US$10 million (S$13.4 million). In a joint statement on March 25, the National Cyber Security Agency (Nacsa) and Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad (MAHB) said they detected a cyber-security threat affecting certain computer systems at KLIA on March ...