'NHS pays millions to cyber criminals'

MILLIONS of pounds of taxpayers' money has been handed to cyber criminals extorting the likes of the NHS.

- Nina Lloyd

Security minister Dan Jarvis said the bill is likely to be even higher as there is no compulsory reporting system.

He was announcing plans to crack down on ransomware where crooks infiltrate computer systems and disable them until money is paid.

The Home Office is considering banning all public sector organisations from paying up and introducing a mandatory reporting regime.

This would mean the National Crime Agency was aware of live attacks and could block payments to known criminal and sanctioned groups.