On Tuesday, a massive ransomware infection hits computers in 99 countries with the tools believed to have been stolen by the National Security Agency (NSA) in the US. Earlier today, the NSA found a link between the problematic ransomware Wannacry and North Korea. The news caught attention in the UK as the NHS was one of the organisations around the world heavily hit by the software.
More than 40 NHS organisations and medical practices were affected by the ransomware. The Wannacry programme was screenshot by one of the NHS staffs showing the demand for $300 (£230) for the decrypting key.
Edward Snowden, who was famous for the Wikileak in 2013 have criticised the NSA for not being able to stop the spreading sooner due to out-dated systems. “If [the NSA] had privately disclosed the flaw used to attack hospitals when they found it, not when they lost it, this may not have happened.” Snowden told The BBC North America Technology reporter, Dave Lee that the institution was too slow in updating their systems as the attack happened almost two months after a fix from Microsoft was made available.
Marcus Hutchins, the ransomware attack hero, is working with the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ). He has been credited for stopping the spread of Wannacry by triggering a “kill switch”. Hutchins also caught public attention as a self-taught 22 years old tech expert.
What Is A Ransomware ?
A ransomware is a type of software that blocks user access and take hostage of their devices. It forces them to pay usually through Bitcoin a ransom in exchange for a way to unlock their system.
The First Ransomware Attack
According to Becker’s Hospital Review, the first ransom happened in 1989. A so called AIDS Trojan targeted expectedly the healthcare industry by a PhD researcher Joseph Popp.
The Statistics
Between 2005 and March 2016, 7600 ransom attacks were reported to the Internet Crime Compliant Centre (IC3).
In 2015, the IC3 received 2,453 ransom complaints that cost over $1.6 million.
Protecing Against The Ransomware
The simplest way to protect the data is to back up data regularly and keep the software up-to-date.