""When a ransomware gang encrypts a hospital's systems and demands payment under threat of continued system lockout - knowing that patients are being diverted, that dialysis is being delayed, that surgery schedules are being canceled - I believe a serious legal argument exists that this conduct falls within those definitions [of terrorism].""
""At minimum, it merits a formal, deliberate analysis by the Departments of State, Justice, and Treasury, who collectively hold designation authority under Executive Order 13224.""
Cynthia Kaiser, a former FBI cyber chief, advocates for the U.S. government to label ransomware actors targeting hospitals as terrorists. She suggests applying a Bush-era terror financing authority to these cases. Kaiser proposes that prosecutors could pursue homicide charges under federal felony murder standards if ransomware attacks lead to patient deaths. Ransomware attacks cost U.S. victims millions annually, with hospitals being prime targets due to the urgency of restoring operations. Kaiser argues that such conduct fits terrorism definitions and merits analysis by relevant government departments.
Read at Nextgov.com
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