All public sector bodies and critical national infrastructure could be banned from making ransomware payments under new Government proposals designed to combat the cyber crime.

A Home Office consultation is being launched that will consider expanding the existing ban on government departments making such payments, which are often demanded by cybercriminals to unlock or return files they have accessed after breaking into a computer system.

The proposals also include a ransomware payment prevention regime, designed to increase the National Crime Agency’s awareness of live attacks and block payments to known criminal groups and sanctioned entities, as well as plans to make it mandatory to report ransomware incidents to boost the intelligence available to law enforcement.

The Home Office said it believed the introduction of the new scheme would help make national infrastructure and public sector bodies such as the NHS, local councils and schools less appealing targets to criminal gangs.

Recent cyber attacks have included a key supplier to London Hospitals and Royal Mail, with devastating impacts on the public.

Security minister Dan Jarvis said: “Driving down cyber crime is central to this Government’s missions to reduce crime, deliver growth, and keep the British people safe.

“With an estimated one billion dollars flowing to ransomware criminals globally in 2023, it is vital we act to protect national security as a key foundation upon which this Government’s Plan for Change is built.

“These proposals help us meet the scale of the ransomware threat, hitting these criminal networks in their wallets and cutting off the key financial pipeline they rely upon to operate.

“Today marks the beginning of a vital step forward to protect the UK economy and keep businesses and jobs safe.”

The UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has previously highlighted ransomware as one of the biggest cyber threats facing the country.

NCSC chief executive Richard Horne said: “This consultation marks a vital step in our efforts to protect the UK from the crippling effects of ransomware attacks and the associated economic and societal costs.

“Organisations of all sizes need to build their defences against cyber attacks such as ransomware, and our website contains a wealth of advice tailored to different organisations.

“In addition, using proven frameworks like Cyber Essentials, and free services like NCSC’s Early Warning, will help to strengthen their overall security posture.

“And organisations across the country need to strengthen their ability to continue operations in the face of the disruption caused by successful ransomware attacks.

“This isn’t just about having backups in place: organisations need to make sure they have tested plans to continue their operations in the extended absence of IT should an attack be successful, and have a tested plan to rebuild their systems from backups.”

Deputy Director Paul Foster, head of the NCA’s National Cyber Crime Unit, said: “Ransomware is the most significant cybercrime threat facing the UK and the world, with attacks costing millions in terms of losses and recovery.”

He added: “Last year the NCA led an international investigation tackling LockBit ransomware – previously the most damaging ransomware strain in the world, accounting for around a quarter of all attacks.

“We infiltrated LockBit’s technical infrastructure, resulting in arrests, sanctioning of criminals and revealing the mastermind behind it. We also accessed vast amounts of data held by LockBit, including decryption keys that enabled victims to unlock their systems.

“We look forward to engaging with this process and supporting efforts to further improve the UK’s cyber security.”