Question to the Home Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the origin of ransom cyber attacks against British businesses.

Ransomware attacks are increasingly common globally with international and domestic cyber criminals increasingly viewing UK-based businesses and private individuals as attractive targets. Cyber criminals targeting the UK include international serious organised crime groups as well as smaller-scale, mostly domestic, criminals and hacktivists. While a small number of elite cyber criminals conduct the most serious cyber crimes, cyber crime is highly accessible and the availability of tools and services has lowered the entry level.

The ransomware landscape has changed in recent years, the number of attacks has decreased; however, the attacks appear to be more targeted and demand bigger ransoms. The NCSC and NCA continue to monitor the cyber threat with the UK being a global leader in understanding the threat from cyber crime. NCSC assesses the threat actors behind most large ransomware attacks are Russian speaking cyber criminals.