Senate Judiciary Subcommittee Plans Hearing on Ransomware Threat, Solutions

The Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism plans a May 18 hearing on the threat of ransomware and possible solutions. The 3 p.m. hearing will be in 226 Dirksen. No witnesses were listed. Ransomware is malware that prevents people from using their computers or data on the computers unless they pay money to free up the device or data. Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., recently said at a Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing that ransomware is becoming a major threat and cited a March attack that crippled the systems of 10 Maryland hospitals in the MedStar Health network (see 1604190032).