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Guidance for organisations considering payment in ransomware incidents

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Document information
ByNational Cyber Security Centrecobalt_kite_afca98

Advice for organisations experiencing a ransomware attack and the partner organisations supporting them.

Adapted edition

Incident response
Document type
Reference Guide
Format
DOCX
Pages
4
Language
English
Version
1.0
Updated
2026-09-16
Category
Information security
Licence
Open Government Licence v3.0
Description

Advice for organisations experiencing a ransomware attack and the partner organisations supporting them for organisational planning, review and training. NCSC guidance is advisory and should be applied to the organisation's own risks and obligations.

Contents
  • Background context
  • Things to consider
  • Don't panic
  • Review alternatives, including not paying
  • Record your decision-making
  • Where possible, consult experts
  • Involve the right people across the organisation in decisions, including technical staff
  • Assess the impact
  • Investigate the root cause of the incident to avoid a repeat attack
  • Be aware that payment does not guarantee access to your devices or data
  • Consider the correct legal and regulatory practice around payment
  • Know that paying a ransom does not fulfil your regulatory obligations
  • Report the incident to UK authorities
  • Source links
Source and licence
Guidance for organisations considering payment in ransomware incidents

National Cyber Security Centre

Original source OGL-UK-3.0

AttributionNational Cyber Security Centre, “Guidance for organisations considering payment in ransomware incidents” (14 May 2024), reused under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

ChangesAdapted 16 September 2026: converted the official HTML article into neutral text-only DOCX and PDF editions. Preserved article headings, paragraphs, lists and plain-text source-link destinations; normalized web whitespace and typographic punctuation; omitted site navigation, topic and download cards, images, logos, scripts, styles and page furniture.

Version history
  • v1.016/09/2026
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