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:
- No Agency Is Too Small
January 28, 2026
Back when nation-state threat actors were primarily targeting large government agencies, government contractors, and large companies, security through obscurity was a legitimate strategy. In years past, betting that attackers wouldn’t bother with smaller targets was a feasible way of operating. It’s feasible no longer. Hackers are better equipped than ever before, thanks in part to artificial ...
- HoneyMyte updates CoolClient and deploys multiple stealers in recent campaigns
January 27, 2026
Over the past few years, we’ve been observing and monitoring the espionage activities of HoneyMyte (aka Mustang Panda or Bronze President) within Asia and Europe, with the Southeast Asia region being the most affected. The primary targets of most of the group’s campaigns were government entities. As an APT group, HoneyMyte uses a variety of sophisticated tools ...
- PeckBirdy: A Versatile Script Framework for LOLBins Exploitation Used by China-aligned Threat Groups
January 26, 2026
Since 2023, Trend Micro researchers have been observing threat campaigns employing a previously unseen script-based command-and-control (C&C) framework which we named PeckBirdy, being used against Chinese gambling industries, as well as malicious activities targeting Asian government entities and private organizations. While tracking this framework, Trend Micro identified at least two campaigns using PeckBirdy, which we were ...
- Nike says it is investigating possible data breach
January 26, 2026
Nike says it is investigating a potential data breach, after a group known for cyber attacks reportedly claimed to have leaked a trove of data related to its business operations. “We always take consumer privacy and data security very seriously,” Nike said in a statement. “We are investigating a potential cyber security incident and are ...
- Researchers say Russian government hackers were behind attempted Poland power outage
January 23, 2026
A failed December effort to bring down parts of Poland’s energy grid was the work of Russian government hackers known for causing past energy disruptions, according to a security research firm that investigated the incident. Last week, Polish Energy Minister Milosz Motyka told reporters that the attempted cyberattack on December 29 and 30 saw hackers targeting ...
- ShinyHunters claims Okta customer breaches, leaks data belonging to 3 orgs
January 23, 2026
ShinyHunters has claimed responsibility for an Okta voice-phishing campaign during which the extortionist crew allegedly gained access to Crunchbase and Betterment. On Friday, the criminals leaked data allegedly stolen from market-intel broker Crunchbase, streaming platform SoundCloud, and financial-tech firm Betterment, and confirmed to The Register that they gained access to two of the three – Crunchbase ...