FBI tells Congress ransomware payments shouldn't be banned

Congress should not attempt to address the threat of ransomware by making ransom payments to cybercriminals illegal, a top FBI official told US lawmakers Tuesday.

Banning ransom payments could inadvertently create opportunities for further extortion by ransomware gangs, said Bryan Vorndran, assistant director of the FBI's cyber division. "If we ban ransom payments now, you're putting US companies in a position to face yet another extortion, which is being blackmailed for paying the ransom and not sharing that with authorities," Vorndran said at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on ransomware.