NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — A measure that would block the state of Tennessee from paying off hackers has passed the Tennessee House and now moves on to the Tennessee Senate.
Ransomware hackers are known to approach entities, like the state of Tennessee, and require an expensive payout to return stolen data and information. A bill from Rep. William Lamberth, a Republican from Portland who serves as House Majority Leader, makes it clear that the state won't pay up.
"We will not pay hackers for our own data," he said on the House floor Thursday morning.
Lamberth says the state is making sure they have data stored in multiple places, along with extra levels of security. By declaring that Tennessee won't pay up, Lamberth thinks it may help take the target off the state's back. But a Democrat expressed concern that it may have the opposite effect.
"Sometimes people like a dare, and they might interpret our discussion today as a dare?" said Rep. Yusuf Hakeem, D-Chattanooga.
"It’s not a dare, it is a declaration," replied Rep. Lamberth. "There is no sense in hijacking our data cause you will never get paid. We will make up the difference. We will recreate our systems. We will have that data backed up somewhere else. It’s not a dare, it will just be simply useless to hack into the State of Tennessee."
Hakeem and all the other House Democrats ultimately passed the measure.
If a hacker ends up stealing state data, Lamberth reassured lawmakers that Tennessee has an insurance package that will help pay victims to get support services, after the fact.
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