On Friday last week, the entire digital world came to a standstill when media reports emerged that hackers have succeeded in infecting around 200,000 computer systems with ransomware in more than 150 countries.
Reports now confirm that a hacking group called Lazarus from North Korea launched the said cyber attack by tapping in the vulnerabilities of Microsoft Operating systems- a flaw which was already exposed by National Security Agency a month ago.
Reuters was the first to confirm that the hackers used the same exploit tool developed by NSA to hit the operating systems vulnerabilities.
It was revealed in a probe that businesses that failed to update the patches of Microsoft fell prey to Wannacry ransomware.
Some media resources also reported that Microsoft might be sued by companies using various OS versions of the Redmond-based giant for providing low-grade security features against the latest cyber attacks such as ransomware.
But remember, Microsoft Corporation has made it official that it is not going to entertain any such suits now or in near future as it enjoys a strong immune from lawsuits. As it’s digital Licensing agreement made with each and every user is thoroughly formulated to avoid any such troubles.
Yesterday, the software giant released a media statement which said that the 200,000 Windows Computers which were infected including that of US FedEx Corp, Britain’s NHS and Renault’s car factory were either lacking the necessary security patches or were running on the dead and extinct Windows XP.
As Wanna cry can only exploit the flaws in older versions of Windows including Windows 7& 8 and XP for which the support has been stopped, Microsoft in no way can be held responsible for the said cyber crime.
However, companies who are holding critical data and whose databases were encrypted by Wanna cry can be sued by their respective users for showing laxity towards cyber security.
On the other hand, NSA which exploited the vulnerabilities of Microsoft operated systems a month ago is also shielded against lawsuits under the doctrine of sovereign immunity. The law says that government cannot be sued for carrying out its official duties.
In this case, NSA tried to expose the vulnerability of Microsoft operating systems through its developed hacking tools- all in the name of protecting the integrity of the OS users.
So, whose going to take the blame then…….?
