Lawmakers ponder terrorism designations, homicide charges over hospital ransomware attacks

Key Points:

• Ransomware attacks targeting hospitals are increasing, with incidents doubling from 238 in 2024 to 460 in 2025, prompting lawmakers to consider severe penalties, including terrorism designations and homicide charges for resulting deaths.
• The health care sector is now the most targeted by ransomware, raising concerns about the potential for loss of life due to these attacks. A University of Minnesota study indicated that such attacks may have caused numerous deaths among Medicare patients.
• Recommended actions include legislative measures to classify ransomware attacks as terrorism and establish clearer guidelines for prosecuting related homicides.

Technical Details: The article discusses the rising trend of ransomware attacks in the health care sector but does not provide specific technical details such as CVE IDs or malware families.

MITRE ATT&CK Techniques: None mentioned

IOCs Mentioned: None mentioned