The collection and processing of information was a major theme at the United States Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs (HSGAC) hearing titled, “Rising Threats: Ransomware Attacks and Ransom Payments Enabled by Cryptocurrency” on Tuesday. On Tuesday, the committee hosted experts in the private sector who spoke out about ransomware attacks as well as the difficulties of collecting and using information to combat them.

Gary Peters from Michigan is the chair of the Strengthening American Cybersecurity Act. He introduced it in February. Peters said that there are not enough data available to allow the government to fully understand the ransomware threat. He added that almost all ransomware attackers demand payment in cryptocurrency.