The Joint Committee says that the Integrated Review identified ransomware, which is a type of cyber extortion, as one of the most “pernicious forms of cybercrime” and the 2021 National Cyber Strategy described it as “the most significant cyber threat facing the UK”.

The Joint Committee invites written evidence on the following topics by 16 December 2022:

• the extent and nature of the ransomware threat (including sources), modes of extortion, and how the threat could evolve in future;
• levels and sources of vulnerability of UK organisations to ransomware, including operators of critical national infrastructure;
• the UK victim experience, including sources of support for prevention, detection and recovery, public-private partnerships, the role of the media, access to and availability of insurance cover, and regulatory requirements placed on ransomware victims;
• the effectiveness of the response to ransomware by Government, law enforcement agencies and other UK state actors, including key operational challenges and ministerial oversight;
• reforms that might enhance the UK’s resilience to ransomware, reduce the economic and societal damage that it causes, and/or support the law enforcement response;
• the scope for international cooperation to combat the global ransomware threat more effectively, including on crypto-currency regulation; and
• lessons that could be learned from other countries’ approaches and responses to ransomware.

Submissions may address any one of these issues and do not need to cover the entire remit of the Joint Committee’s inquiry. To access the call for evidence, click here.