Senators introduce bill to sanction nations tied to ransomware attacks

Senate Intelligence Committee Vice Chairman Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) on Thursday introduced legislation that would sanction countries involved in state-sponsored ransomware attacks.

The Sanction and Stop Ransomware Act would impose penalties on nations deemed by the secretary of State and the Director of National Intelligence to be a “state sponsor of ransomware” through harboring or providing support for cybercriminals carrying out such attacks. The president would then be required to impose sanctions that are consistent with those levied on nations deemed sponsors of terrorism.

Ransomware attacks have been on the rise over the past year during the COVID-19 pandemic, reaching the level of a national security threat with the May attacks on both the Colonial Pipeline, which provides 45 percent of the East Coast’s fuel, and meat producer JBS USA. Both ransomware attacks were linked by the FBI to Russian-based cybercriminal groups.