A bill to protect businesses from being attacked by ransomware has unanimously passed the House Judiciary-Criminal committee with a vote of 8-0. 

House Bill 1759, authored by Rep. Trish Ranson, D-Stillwater, updates language in the Oklahoma Computer Crimes Act to better reflect modern technology and subsequent threats to computer security through updated definitions and penalties.

Cybercrime, such as ransomware where criminals deny access to a computer system or data until a ransom is paid, is a significant and ever-evolving threat to personal, business, nonprofit, and government entities and results in thousands to millions of dollars of loss.