Items tagged with wannacrypt
The hackers behind the WannaCry ransomware that became an overnight global scare did not strike it rich over their nefarious deeds, though they did make around $143,000 after cashing out all of the Bitcoin payments made by victims. Had it not been for the quick response of security researchers, and one in particular who accidentally discovered a kill switch of sorts, they might have made much more. Elliptic, a London-based start-up that aids law enforcement with tracking down cybercriminals that use Bitcoin, confirmed that the WannaCry withdrew 52.2 BTC from online wallets this week. Bitcoin currency is currently worth around $2,740, resulting in the six-figure payday for the people behind the...
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Now that the dust has settled on a global ransomware outbreak that could have been much worse than it ended up being, we can all breathe a sigh of relieve. Meanwhile, security outfits are busy analyzing the outbreak to uncover as much information as possible about the threat known as WannaCry. According to Symantec's investigation into things, WannaCry has "strong links to Lazarus," which is the same group that attacked Sony Pictures and made off with $81 million from the Bangladesh Central Bank. Symantec says that before the recent outbreak occurred, a near identical version of WannaCry was used in targeted attacks in the months of February, March, and April of this year. The only difference...
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For a quick minute, it looked as though a strain of ransomware that was seemingly stolen from the United States National Security Agency (NSA) was going to be a major problem for PCs around the world, and in particular Windows XP systems. Microsoft even made the unusual move of releasing an emergency patch for Windows XP even though it stopped supporting the legacy OS a long time ago. But now a week after the initial WannaCry outbreak it's been discovered that Windows 7 PCs were the hardest hit. A researcher for Kaspersky Lab posted a message on Twitter saying "the Windows XP count is insignificant," adding that Windows 7 took the brunt of the ransomware's activity. When looking at the overall...
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The Wanna Decrypter ransomware that began floating around the Internet late last week, or WannCry as it's commonly known, has made a lasting impact, with hundreds of thousands of PCs worldwide being affected. What the malware does is even more alarming: one minute, you're using your computer normally; the next, your data is locked away behind a key unless you fork over hundreds of dollars in ransom money. As has become typical of ransomware, WannaCry will demand payment via Bitcoin in order to recover the data the attackers locked down. Once payment is received, an encryption key is typically (but not always) sent that will allow the user to recover their data. It's a chore for the inexperienced...
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The Internet community was able to breathe a temporary sigh of relief after a 22-year-old security researcher accidentally discovered a way to thwart WannaCrypt, a fast-spreading strain of malware that was stolen from the National Security Agency. After reaching tens of thousands of systems in over 70 countries within the first few hours, WannaCrypt was stopped dead in its tracks. Also known as WannaCry, WCry, and by a handful of other designations, the unprecedented ransomware attack was particularly bothersome for hospitals in the UK. Many of them shut down and turned patients away. In some cases, operations had to be cancelled. Doctors and staff were locked out of viewing patent records because...
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Microsoft stopped supporting Windows XP several years ago, though because some users and businesses (including government agencies) are still clinging to the legacy operating system, it has been known to release patches for more serious security threats. It does not happen often, but it does happen. Case in point, Microsoft has issued a security patch to protect Windows XP systems from the WannaCrypt ransomware that is spreading across the globe. Also known as WannaCry, WCry, and a handful of other names, WannaCrypt is believed to be one of the cybersecurity tools a hacking group pilfered from the National Security Agency (NSA) and leaked to the web. What makes this bit of ransomware particularly...
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