US Plans to Push Other Countries Not to Pay Hacker Ransoms

The US is pushing a group of governments to publicly commit to not make ransom payments to hackers ahead of an annual meeting of more than 45 nations in Washington later this month.

Anne Neuberger, deputy national security adviser, told Bloomberg News that she is “incredibly hopeful” about enlisting support for such a statement but acknowledged it’s a “hard policy decision.” If members can’t agree to the statement in advance of the meeting, then it will be included as a discussion point, she said.

Ransomware is a type of malicious code that encrypts a victim’s computer files, essentially rendering ...