UK floats ransomware payout ban for public sector

The UK has opened a 12-week consultation on major ransomware policy options: a total ransom-payment ban for public sector and critical national infrastructure with mandatory reporting; a broader regime requiring government approval before any other organization pays; or mandatory incident reporting without a ban. The paper considers thresholds (citing Australia’s new reporting rules), highlights NCSC support and resilience guidance, and revisits the policy debate over bans and their trade-offs, against a backdrop of rising nationally significant incidents and ransomware activity.