UK Cyber Ransom Ban Risks Collapse of Essential Services

The UK government has been warned that its plan to ban operators of critical national infrastructure from paying ransoms to hackers is unlikely to stop cyber attacks and could result in essential services collapsing. From a report: The proposal, announced by the Home Office in July, is designed to deter cyber criminals by making it clear any attempt to blackmail regulated companies such as hospitals, airports and telecoms groups will not succeed. If enacted, the UK would be the first country to implement such a ban.

But companies and cyber groups have told government officials that making paying ransoms illegal would remove a valuable tool in negotiations where highly sensitive data or essential services could be compromised, according to two people familiar with the matter. 'An outright ban on payments sounds tough on crime, but in reality it could turn a solvable crisis into a catastrophic one,' said Greg Palmer, a partner at law firm Linklaters.

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