Lawmakers ponder terrorism designations, homicide charges over hospital ransomware attacks
Lawmakers ponder terrorism designations, homicide charges over hospital ransomware attacks
Publish Date: 2026-04-21 14:49:00
Source Domain: cyberscoop.com
Lawmakers at a hearing Tuesday explored ways to beef up punishments for ransomware attacks against hospitals, possibly by labeling them as more severe crimes.
One proposal floated at the House Homeland Security Committee hearing, to treat ransomware attacks as terrorism, is an idea Congress has flirted with before. Another would be to press prosecutors to pursue homicide charges in attacks on hospitals where death resulted — something German authorities also once pondered.
A former top FBI cyber official, Cynthia Kaiser, put forward both ideas at the hearing, a joint meeting of the subcommittees on Border Security and Enforcement and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Protection on cybercrime, drawing questions and interest from members.
“I believe there are no penalties too severe for individuals that would target our health care system,” said Mississippi Rep. Michael Guest, chair of the border subcommittee, whose home state of Mississippi’s health care clinics closed following a February ransomware attack.
The suggestions stem from a growing focus by ransomware attackers on the health care sector, with incidents doubling from 238 in 2024 to 460 in 2025 according to FBI statistics, making it the top targeted sector.
Kaiser, now senior vice of the Halcyon ransomware research center, said terrorism designations from the State, Treasury and Justice departments could lead to further sanctions, restricted travel and other punishments. Justice Department guidance on homicide charges could clarify its authorities, she said.
“It sounds like the language is there, it just has not been applied in these circumstances,” said Rep. Lou Correa of California, the top Democrat on Guest’s subpanel.
The notion of more closely entwining cyberattacks and terrorism is something both Congress and the executive branch have examined recently.
The fiscal 2025 Senate intelligence authorization bill would have directly linked ransomware to…
