A Second Trump Term's Impact on Ransomware's Future and Security Strategies

The United States has made significant strides in combating ransomware over the past four years, with President Joe Biden declaring it a national security threat. Despite this progress, the number of cyberattacks targeting U.S. organizations continues to rise, and experts warn that a second Trump term could see a resurgence of ransomware attacks.

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A Mixed Bag First Term

From a cybersecurity perspective, Donald Trump’s first term was a mixed bag. One of his early executive orders required federal agencies to assess their cybersecurity risks, while the Trump administration unveiled the U.S. government’s first national cybersecurity strategy in over a decade. This strategy led to more aggressive "name-and-shame" attribution policies and the easing of rules to allow intelligence agencies to conduct offensive cyberattacks.

In 2018, Congress passed a law founding CISA, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, which has played a crucial role in coordinating the government’s response to ransomware attacks. However, with a second Trump term, there is concern that this progress could be undone by wide-scale government deregulation.

The Risk of Deregulation

Experts warn that a scaled-back focus on regulation could lead to a resurgence of ransomware attacks. Casey Ellis, founder of crowdsourced security platform Bugcrowd, expects to see an increase in U.S. offensive cyber capabilities, including hacking back against malicious actors. Ellis notes that Trump has a history of supporting initiatives that deter enemies to U.S. sovereign security.

"A second Trump term could pick up where it left off with offensive cyberattacks and employ a more aggressive approach in tackling the ransomware problem," says Ellis. "The kind of ransomware, initial access broker, cybercriminal infrastructure, and quasi-government operations previously targeted by the U.S. government would continue to be a focus."

The Impact on Ransomware Taskforce

A second Trump term could also see the global ransomware taskforce established by President Biden come under threat. The taskforce has accelerated law enforcement activity by opening up the exchange of information between countries, but this could be undone by deregulation.

"The global ransomware taskforce has been a game-changer in tackling ransomware attacks," says Casey Ellis. "There’s a good chance that goes away, or at least that the U.S. is no longer part of it."

Expert Insights

Casey Ellis, founder of Bugcrowd: "A second Trump term could pick up where it left off with offensive cyberattacks and employ a more aggressive approach in tackling the ransomware problem."
Carly Page, Senior Reporter at TechCrunch: "The number of cyberattacks targeting U.S. organizations continues to rise, and experts warn that a second Trump term could see a resurgence of ransomware attacks."
Kyle Wiggers, Reporter at TechCrunch: "Google is forming a new team to build AI that can simulate the physical world, which could have significant implications for cybersecurity."

What’s Next?

As we look ahead to a second Trump term, it’s clear that the fight against ransomware will continue to be a top priority. Experts warn that deregulation could undo progress made in recent years, but there is also hope that a more aggressive approach to tackling ransomware attacks could lead to significant gains.

One thing is certain: the ongoing battle against ransomware will require continued vigilance and cooperation between governments, industries, and experts around the world.

Sources

"Washington sues T-Mobile over 2021 data breach that spilled 79 million customer records"
"In Brief: CISA says ‘no indication’ of wider government hack beyond Treasury"
"Meet the Chinese ‘Typhoon’ hackers preparing for war"