Auditor’s office backs bill banning most ransomware payments, with local-control exception

The Ohio House Technology and Innovation Committee considered House Bill 283 in its second hearing, listening to testimony from Tori Scholl, director of policy and legislative affairs for Auditor of State Keith Faber, who spoke in support of the bill.

The bill would ban political subdivisions from paying or complying with ransomware demands, but it includes a compromise: a local legislative authority may approve a ransom payment if it adopts a resolution explaining why the payment is in the public interest. "In house bill 283, it now includes a compromise which allows [a] legislative authority to pay your cybersecurity ransom if the local authority adopts a resolution explaining why the payment or compliance is in the public interest," Scholl told the committee.

Nut graf: supporters framed HB283 as a practical measure to require local governments to prepare for and report cyber incidents while preserving…