The OFAC is issued an advisory to highlight the sanctions risks associated with ransomware payments related to malicious cyber-enabled activities. (Photo: Yanawut Suntornkij/Shutterstock)

A recent advisory notice issued by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) won't necessarily put more direct pressure on organizations to ascertain the identities of bad actors behind ransomware attacks. But it could force risk teams and the companies they serve to overcome their reluctance toward voluntarily approaching the FBI or other law enforcement agencies in the wake of a cyberattack.

While the advisory did reaffirm the existence of sanctions facing both businesses that choose to pay a ransom to a blocked person/embargoed jurisdiction or a provider that helps facilitate such a transaction, OFAC's latest bulletin isn't necessarily bringing anything new to the table. "I do not believe that anything really has changed. … When I think about my team and the way that we are responding to ransomware matters, nothing really has changed," said Ted Kobus, chair of the digital assets and data management group at Baker & Hostetler.

Want to continue reading?
Become a Free PropertyCasualty360 Digital Reader

Your access to unlimited PropertyCasualty360 content isn’t changing.
Once you are an ALM digital member, you’ll receive:

  • Breaking insurance news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
  • Weekly Insurance Speak podcast featuring exclusive interviews with industry leaders
  • Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
  • Critical converage of the employee benefits and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, BenefitsPRO and ThinkAdvisor
NOT FOR REPRINT

© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.

Frank Ready

Frank Ready is a reporter on the tech desk at ALM Media. He can be reached at [email protected].

Investigative & Forensics
Information Security
Commercial Lines
Cybersecurity
Regulation/Legislation