New WannaCry ransomware cripples global computer networks

A global cyber attack has crippled companies and government agencies around the world, including Britain’s National Health Service and firms using Microsoft Windows.

Multiple reports said that a version of already known ransomware called WannaCry had spread across large computer networks by exploiting a bug in the Windows operating system, with cyber security expert Rich Barger of Splunk telling Reuters that it was one of the biggest global ransomware attacks ever seen.

The Guardian reported that more than 45,000 attacks in 74 countries had been logged by close to 6am AEST today, including the UK, US, South America, Europe, Russia, India, and China. 

Fresh IDR based heatmap for WanaCrypt0r 2.0 ransomware (WCry/WannaCry).
Also follow @MalwareTechBlog's tracker: https://t.co/mjFwsT3JzH pic.twitter.com/SPeZfBpckm

— MalwareHunterTeam (@malwrhunterteam) May 12, 2017

The virus, which is spread by email, disables networks and shuts out users, allowing hackers to demand money in order to restore access to files and data.

The UK’s famous healthcare system, the NHS, was forced to turn away patients on Friday because computers at hospitals and clinics were affected, while Spanish telecoms giant Telefonica’s internal network was hit. Global shipper Fedex was also impacted. Although Russia has been blamed in the past for encouraging hacking of other countries’ networks, the Russian Interior Ministry told Interfax news agency on Friday that some of its computers had been infected with the ransomware.

The NHS said that there was no evidence so far that patient data had been compromised, while Prime Minister Theresa May’s office reportedly said that she was monitoring the issue.

Our statement on the reported ransomware issues: https://t.co/Pt47dvpbiR #nhscyberattack

— NHS England Digital (@NHSDigital) May 12, 2017

No hacker has yet claimed responsibility for spreading WannaCry, but cyber security experts said that the virus used a piece of code known as Eternal Blue, that was developed by the United States’ National Security Agency. The code, which was reportedly originally developed as a cyber weapon, was released last month by a group of hackers known as the Shadow Brokers last month, the experts said. Shadow Brokers claimed to have stolen the cyber weapons from the NSA

The New York Times reported that although Microsoft rolled out a patch for the virus in March, calling the update ‘critical’, but hackers were taking advantage of the fact that many companies and agencies hadn’t updated their systems.

There has been no report as yet of Australian networks being impacted.

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