# Understanding the Sanction and Stop Ransomware Act of 2021

This bill is designed to fight ransomware attacks—a type of cybercrime where hackers lock up computer systems and demand money to unlock them. The law gives the government new tools to punish both the criminals who carry out these attacks and anyone who helps them, particularly by targeting the money trail that makes ransomware profitable.

Here's what the bill actually does: It allows the U.S. government to impose economic sanctions (basically financial penalties and restrictions) against foreign individuals and organizations involved in ransomware attacks. It also requires companies to report ransomware payments to the government, so authorities can track where the money goes. The bill specifically targets cryptocurrency transactions, since ransomware criminals often demand payment in Bitcoin or other digital currencies. By making it harder for criminals to hide their money and easier for the government to identify and punish them, the law aims to make ransomware attacks less attractive to criminals in the first place.

For everyday people, this matters because ransomware attacks have hit hospitals, schools, local governments, and businesses—disrupting essential services and sometimes costing millions to fix. By cracking down on the criminals and their financial networks, this law could reduce the frequency and severity of these attacks. If you work at a hospital, school, or any organization that handles sensitive data, this bill is meant to help protect your workplace from being targeted. The requirement that companies report ransomware payments also means the government gets better information about attack patterns, which can help prevent future incidents.

Sanction and Stop Ransomware Act of 2021

Rubio, Marco

Sanction and Stop Ransomware Act of 2021 This bill addresses ransomware threats to national security. Specifically, the bill <ul> <li>requires the promulgation of mandatory cybersecurity standards for critical infrastructure entities;</li> <li>requires the instituting of regulatory requirements for cryptocurrency exchanges operating within the United States to reduce the anonymity of users and accounts suspected of ransomware activity;</li> <li>deems ransomware threats to critical infrastructure a national intelligence priority component to the National Intelligence Priorities Framework; and </li> <li>authorizes monitoring of the internet, including the dark web, for evidence of a compromise to critical infrastructure.</li> </ul> The Department of State shall annually <ul> <li>designate as a state sponsor of ransomware any country the government which has provided support for ransomware demand schemes (including by providing safe haven for individuals engaged in such schemes), and </li> <li>submit to Congress a report listing the designated countries.</li> </ul> The National Intelligence Agency shall submit a report to specified congressional committees on the implications of the ransomware threat to national security. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) shall establish ransomware operation reporting capabilities to facilitate the submission of timely, secure, and confidential ransomware notifications by federal agencies and covered entities to CISA. In addition, CISA shall establish a public awareness campaign related to the cybersecurity services of the government. The bill also establishes the Information System and Network Security Fund. Any amounts in the fund may be distributed to eligible entities for a specific network security purpose, including to enable network recovery from an event affecting network cybersecurity.