California bill would stiffen sentences for ransomware criminals

Ransomware is a massive pain. It’s actually much more than that. It is single-handedly the absolute worst type of malware you could hope to get, and has made protecting your computer so much more important.

That’s because, unlike other types of malware, simply removing it does not provide an end to your woes. Because even after you remove it, your files are still encrypted, meaning if you don’t have a full back-up, you’re most likely left with two choices – risk paying the ransomware criminals, or accept you’ve just lost your files.

It has cost individuals and businesses billions of dollars. Read here for our full write-up on ransomware, what it is and how to avoid it.

Given that the consequences of ransomware are potentially so much greater than other strains of malware, lawmakers in California are trying to increase the severity of sentences for ransomware authors, by upgrading the offense from various computer misuse violations to outright extortion.

Because that what ransomware essentially is. Digital extortion.

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If the bill gets signed into law, offenders can be prosecuted for extortion and face jail time sentences between 2-4 years.

That’s good news, and it’s a reflection of how serious ransomware has become for the Internet community. But will it curb the increasing popularity of ransomware?

Well, probably not. It’s dubious as to whether increasing sentences for a particular crime provides any actual motivation for the criminals to stop doing it, and most ransomware authors don’t come from the United States any way.

But it’s a start. What do you think? Let us know below.