techUK response to the Home Office Ransomware Consultation

techUK has submitted it's response to the Home Office consultation response which looked at proposed measures to reduce the impact of ransomware attacks on our Critical National Infrastructure and Public Sector.

techUK welcomes and shares the government's ambition to ensure the UK is better protected against ransomware and recognise the serious threat it poses to organisations and the wider economy. The cyber threat landscape and particularly the ransomware ecosystem is evolving to become increasingly complex and professionalised, and it targets all parts of the UK and global economies.

However, techUK and its members expressed concern that any guidance or framework would need to be carefully designed to avoid further burdening victims of ransomware attacks and prevent any unintended consequences.

In our response, we outlined how a full implementation of the proposals could have the following impact on the sector:

Potential duplication of efforts and compliance if these proposals are not aligned to the Cyber Resilience and Security Bill, among other government strategies.

Placing an undue burden on the victim of an attack. Members feel strongly that victims needs support not punishment.

Banning payments could inadvertently push ransomware transactions underground, reduce visibility into cyber criminal and/or shifting attacks to other sectors outside UK CNI and Public Sector, such as Manufacturing which contribute significantly to the UK economy or further down the supply chain.

A blanket approach could create disproportionate challenges for particular groups that may lack the resources or expertise to comply.

Some high-level points and recommendations include:

techUK and members disagreed with that the government should implement a targeted ban on ransomware payments on CNI and public sector, highlighting the points above as key challenges to it's implementation.

Non-compliance of a ban could lead to criminalising a victim of a crime. techUK and members find any such initiative counterproductive to the government's own resilience agenda which fails to address the root cause.

The current voluntary ransomware incident reporting regime should continue to be used with a more structured approach which ensures organisations see the value in reporting, rather than perceiving it as an additional regulatory burden.

The government should create a 'one stop shop' for reporting of an incident and outline the clear next steps a business should take if they are the victim of an attack. This would help to incentivise incident reporting.

The government should share anonymised threat intelligence using data gathered from incident reporting, this should be shared with organisations to support their understanding of the threat landscape and further incentives compliance with reporting regimes.

Read our full response here.

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Meet the team

Jill Broom

Head of Cyber Resilience, techUK

Jill leads the techUK Cyber Security programme, having originally joined techUK in October 2020 as a Programme Manager for the Cyber and Central Government programmes. She is responsible for managing techUK's work across the cyber security ecosystem, bringing industry together with key stakeholders across the public and private sectors. Jill also provides the industry secretariat for the Cyber Growth Partnership, the industry and government conduit for supporting the growth of the sector. A key focus of her work is to strengthen the public–private partnership across cyber to support further development of UK cyber security and resilience policy.

Before joining techUK, Jill worked as a Senior Caseworker for an MP, advocating for local communities, businesses and individuals, so she is particularly committed to techUK’s vision of harnessing the power of technology to improve people’s lives. Jill is also an experienced editorial professional and has delivered copyediting and writing services for public-body and SME clients as well as publishers.

Email:: [email protected]
Website:: www.techuk.org/
LinkedIn:: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jill-broom-19aa824

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Annie Collings

Programme Manager, Cyber Resilience, techUK

Annie is the Programme Manager for Cyber Resilience at techUK. She first joined as the Programme Manager for Cyber Security and Central Government in September 2023.

In her role, Annie supports the Cyber Security SME Forum, engaging regularly with key government and industry stakeholders to advance the growth and development of SMEs in the cyber sector. Annie also coordinates events, engages with policy makers and represents techUK at a number of cyber security events.

Before joining techUK, Annie was an Account Manager at a specialist healthcare agency, where she provided public affairs support to a wide range of medical technology clients. She also gained experience as an intern in both an MP’s constituency office and with the Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed. Annie holds a degree in International Relations from Nottingham Trent University.

Email:: [email protected]
Twitter:: anniecollings24
LinkedIn:: https://www.linkedin.com/in/annie-collings-270150158/

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Tracy Modha

Programme Marketing Assistant for Public Sector Markets, techUK

Tracy supports the marketing of several areas at techUK, including Cyber Exchange, Central Government, Cyber Resilience, Defence, Education, Health and Social Care, Justice and Emergency Services, Local Public Services, Nations and Regions and National Security.

Tracy joined techUK in March 2022, having worked in the education sector for 19 years, covering administration, research project support, IT support and event/training support. My most outstanding achievement has been running three very successful international conferences and over 300 training courses booked all over the globe!

Tracy has a great interest in tech. Gaming and computing have been a big part of her life, and now electric cars are an exciting look at the future. She has warmed to Alexa, even though it can sometimes be sassy!

Email:: [email protected]
Phone:: 02073312000
Website:: www.techuk.org
LinkedIn:: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tracymodha83

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techUK response to the Home Office Ransomware Consultation

In our response, we outlined how a full implementation of the proposals could have the following impact on the sector:

Some high-level points and recommendations include: