Looking through issues, while we've got a couple with hackers and our friend the DEAT virus (issue 57, issue 650) and one issue revolving around ransoming kidnap victims (656), I think this is a unique enough topic to address directly.
[TITLE] Lives On-Line
[VALIDITY] Has computers and internet
[DESCRIPTION] After a @@DEMONYM@@ hospital quietly paid out in a recent ransomware attack, numerous other hospitals across @@NAME@@ have been targeted by criminals hoping to cash in. The unknown perpetrators behind these attacks have demanded large quantities of @@CURRENCYPLURAL@@ to provide unlock keys for the encryption, and hospital administrators have come desperately seeking guidance from law enforcement.
[OPTION 1] "We don't have any choice but to pay, right?" asks the chief physician of one affected hospital, Dr. @@RANDOMNAME@@, while @@HIS@@ colleagues nod nervously in agreement. "Lives are on the line, and if we don't get access back in to these files, there will be fatal consequences. Life-saving surgery will be delayed, medications will get mixed up, and there's no telling what kind of vital records will be lost! We swore an oath!"
[EFFECT 1] weekly ransom attacks strike the nation's hospitals
[OPTION 2] "You can't possibly suggest giving in to terrorists!" cries out @@RANDOMNAME@@, an adjuster for one of the insurance agencies that would have to pay out. "It's a matter of principle not to reward bad behavior. We've already seen that if you pay, it will just happen again and again! It's more important to refuse every claim than to pay out on the off chance it will save somebody. Did I say claim? I meant demand. Refuse the terrorist demands!"
[EFFECT 2] a few innocent deaths are considered proof of principles
[OPTION 3] "We may be able to crack this code" murmurs Deputy Chief @@RANDOMNAME@@, head of your electronic crimes unit. "I'm going to need a few dozen engineers, unfettered access to the network, and all the computing power you've got! You should force hospitals to set up better cyber-defenses, and fine the heck out of any that allow security breaches in the future!
[EFFECT 3] hospitals fear government fines more than terrorist ransoms
[OPTION 4] "This would never have happened with pen and paper!" declares a bureaucrat who has worked for the government longer than you've been alive. "Leave all the computers and the internet and the saggy pants and the hippity-hop to those young folks who don't know better. When lives are on the line, you can't be online. Tell vital services to stick to good old fashioned handwriting - then they're safe from those nasty folks on the web."
[EFFECT 4] doctors fax when they need facts fast
Draft 3a:
2nd draft:
1st draft: