By now, almost the whole world is aware of the fact that hackers launched a ransomware attack last weekend targeting organizations in more than 150 countries. Though not much is known about the group which indulged in this activity, security experts confirmed that the attack was launched using the espionage tools developed by United States National Security Agency(NSA).
As investigators are looking out for those behind the attacks, technical staff had a very tough situation on Sunday, as they had to deal with scrambled computers and restore infected ones. And Fox news predicts that the attack which began on Friday last week could claim more victims as users log on to their workstations on Monday.
Cybersecurity Insiders brings to you a synopsis of what exactly happened when hackers launched a ransomware named Wanna cry attack in more than 150 countries.
A.) Britain’s NHS was the most affected as computers and networks remained locked inaccessible making doctors deal with patient history through Pen & Paper.
b.) According to a report prepared by Elliptic Labs which tracks transactions using the digital currency bitcoins, hackers who launched this attack received just $50,000 via online wallets, which is far below than their actual estimation of $200,000 worth of bitcoins.
c.) Although the virus attack took place in the weekend, car maker Renault and Japanese Carmaker Nissan were the most affected. Nissan came out into open and disclosed to media that the attack affected its car production plants on a severe note bringing in a lot of losses.
d.) US President Donald Trump ordered for a meeting with senior staff of Homeland security to access the situation. The meetings which took place on Friday night and on Saturday afternoon helped trump gain the summary of the ransomware attack. And as per our sources, Trump was not interested in knowing about the culprits. But he was more interested in solutions which help in bringing the situation under control and mitigate the risks.
e.) Experts who are trying to restore the NHS computer systems to life predict that there could be a zombie cyber attack on Monday or some day in this week.
f.) So, far more than 200,000 computer systems operating in more than 150 countries were infected by this virus.
g.) Users using outdated Microsoft operating systems should be extremely cautious from now on. All those who use Windows 2005,2007, Vista, XP, Windows 8 should avoid clicking email links.
h.) Chinese News Agency Xinhua reported that more than 29,000 institutions in China, have been infected by the ransomware cyber attack. This includes universities and educational institutions along with financial firms.
i.) Microsoft President and Chief legal Officer Brand Smith slammed NSA for the cyber attack. He said that ransomware developers used the same hacking techniques developed by NSA to snoop on the computers used by high profile socialites like politicians on foreign nations.
j.) Russia’s state-run Tass news agency reported that the nation was badly affected by the malware attack. The news agency confirmed that the attack locked down computers of the central bank, cellphone operators, and railroads. The agency also hinted that some computer networks related to Russian military were also infected by the Wannacry virus.
k.) For wannabe hackers, experienced hackers are posting step-by-step video guides on YouTube instructing them on how to create their own ransomware. Maybe it’s high time for google to keep a check on such content.
L.) Microsoft advised its users in its latest security bulletin MS17-010 to apply patches to windows systems to prevent such infections from spreading in future.
M.) As per Reuters, the cyber attack was launched by hackers from North Korea.
