Breaking the Ransomware Cycle: U.S. National Policy Options
Dr. Christopher Ford • July 19, 2021
On July 19, 2021, MITRE published a new paper by Dr. Ford and Dr. Charles Clancy on the "epidemic" of ransomware that afflicts Western countries today, and what might be done about it. You can find the paper on MITRE's website here, or download a PDF using the button below.
BREAKING THE RANSOMWARE CYCLE: U.S. NATIONAL POLICY OPTIONS
July 2021
Christopher Ford Ph.D., The MITRE Corporation
Charles Clancy Ph.D., The MITRE Corporation
Holding objects of value hostage until a ransom is paid for their release is an ancient vice, but it has acquired special salience in the digital age, as cyber criminals in this era of internet-facilitated computer network dependencies have learned to take data itself hostage in return for ransom payments.
The explosive growth of “ransomware” attacks in recent years is the result of dynamics in which the cost and risk to attackers have all but disappeared, victims’ incentives to pay promptly have increased, and the profitability of ransomware crime has duly exploded. Predictably, this has attracted steadily more predators to the “game” of digital ransom, and has produced a “feeding frenzy” of ransomware attacks, which U.S. officials have labeled a national crisis.
We will be unable to rein in the ransomware problem unless we directly address the game-theoretical incentive structures that have produced this crisis. By taking effective steps to realign these incentives—such as by incentivizing ransomware- resistant “best practices,” ending victims’ ability to pass cyber ransom costs along to insurance providers, imposing traditional “know your customer” and other associated banking regulatory practices upon cryptocurrency transactions, and taking steps to reduce cyber criminals’ ability to rely upon safe haven in jurisdictions such as Russia—we may be able to break the vicious circle in which we presently find ourselves.
Below are the prepared remarks on which Dr. Ford based his comments at a meeting in Lausanne, Switzerland, on April 18, 2026, discussing U.S.-Russian relations after the expiration of the New START agreement.
Below are the remarks Dr. Ford delivered on a panel at the NATO Nuclear Policy Symposium in Istanbul , Türkiye, on April 21, 2026.
Dr. Ford's article arguing for a "neo-legitimist" approach to international law and law-making was published in Missouri State University's journal Defense & Strategic Studies Online (DASSO) in April 2026. You can find DASSO's webpage here , and an online copy of Dr. Ford's article here -- or use the button below to download a PDF.
Below is the essay of Dr. Ford's that INHR published on April 10, 2026. The essay can be found on the INHR website here , or read the text below.
Below is the essay of Dr. Ford's that INHR published on March 27, 2026. The essay can be found on the INHR website here , or read the text below.
Below is the essay of Dr. Ford's that INHR published on March 12, 2026. The essay can be found on the INHR website here, or read the text below.
The March-April 2026 edition of the Foreign Service Journal published Dr. Ford's article entitled "Negotiating Nuclear Security: A View from the First Trump Administration." You can find the article online by clicking here .
Dr. Ford's article entitled " Marxing America Great Again: Marxist Discourse in Right-Wing Populism and the Future of Geopolitics " was published in Defense & Strategic Studies Online (DASSO), vol. 2, no. 2 (Winter 2026). You can find the whole issue on the DASSO website here , or use the button below to download a PDF of Dr. Ford's piece. (Also, the home page for DASSO can be found here .)
Below is an lightly edited version of the prepared text upon which Dr. Ford based his remarks on February 4, 2026, at the conference on "Regional Security and Weapons of Mass Destruction in the Middle East" sponsored by the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR) in Prague, Czech Republic.
The year 2025 is ageing fast, and the end of the year is now just around the corner. So here’s a compilation of my public work product from the year. As you can see from the list of 10 papers or articles and 26 presentations below, it’s been a busy one. Keep checking New Paradigms Forum for new material as we move into 2026. And Happy New Year, everyone!