In a recent article in Global Data Review, Ed McNicholas provided insights on a proposal by the Arizona legislature to ban tax-payer funded ransomware payments. The bill, recently introduced in the Arizona House of Representatives, would restrict public entities from paying ransoms demanded by hackers. A companion bill would require that cyber attacks be reported to the director of the Arizona Department of Homeland Security. While a novel idea, any restrictions on paying ransoms would need to provide exemptions for hospitals and other critical infrastructure. In addition, the bill could inflict serious harms on individuals and infrastructure if it is not paired with significant updates to public IT systems to protect against ransomware attacks. You can read the full Global Data Review article on the Arizona bill here. We will continue to watch this bill and other state privacy and cybersecurity law developments. Subscribe to RopesDataphiles.com for updates.
Arizona’s Proposes Ban on Publicly Funded Ransomware Payments
