Leaked NSA Malware Crashes Computers Around the World

Posted by Tina

This is an ugly destructive worm; the criminal is demanding ransom. It has shut down computers at hospitals in England, at universities and labs, and has spread to at least 99 countries.

Read all about it at The Intercept:

In mid-April, an arsenal of powerful software tools apparently designed by the NSA to infect and control Windows computers was leaked by an entity known only as the “Shadow Brokers.” Not even a whole month later, the hypothetical threat that criminals would use the tools against the general public has become real, and tens of thousands of computers worldwide are now crippled by an unknown party demanding ransom.

The malware worm taking over the computers goes by the names “WannaCry” or “Wanna Decryptor.” It spreads from machine to machine silently and remains invisible to users until it unveils itself as so-called ransomware, telling users that all their files have been encrypted with a key known only to the attacker and that they will be locked out until they pay $300 to an anonymous party using the cryptocurrency Bitcoin. At this point, one’s computer would be rendered useless for anything other than paying said ransom. The price rises to $600 after a few days; after seven days, if no ransom is paid, the hacker (or hackers) will make the data permanently inaccessible (WannaCry victims will have a handy countdown clock to see exactly how much time they have left).

Additional stories that you can access on the Drudge Report:

AT LEAST 99 COUNTRIES ATTACKED…
‘COULD COST LIVES’…
NSA CYBER WEAPON…
HOSPITALS CRIPPLED, TELECOMMS SNARLED…
GERMAN TRAIN CHAOS…
RUSSIAN GOVT HIT…
FEDEX WHACKED…
SPEED AND SCALE STARTLES EXPERTS…

This entry was posted in Police, Crime, Security, Science and Technology. Bookmark the permalink.

19 Responses to Leaked NSA Malware Crashes Computers Around the World

  1. Libby says:

    Ignore “Patch Tuesday” … at your own risk!

  2. Libby says:

    And … as to the Shadow Brokers … does it occur to anyone that our own Cyber Warriors are not quite what they should be?

    Think this is something The Donald can deal with … do you? … really?

    • Post Scripts says:

      As far as I know the Shadow brokers offered the software on the dark net and a rather large number of hackers jumped on it and used it to demand ransom. So it’s proliferated quickly and across the globe. There are many people involved which makes it difficult to track. The penalty for using this stuff should be death. It wouldn’t take too many to be publicly executed in some gruesome yet fitting manner, before being a clever hacker would lose all its appeal.

  3. J. Soden says:

    Here’s an update to the cyberattack:
    https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/may/13/accidental-hero-finds-kill-switch-to-stop-spread-of-ransomware-cyber-attack

    Those who ignore their own cyber security do so at their own peril!

  4. Soaps says:

    The virus only infects Windows XP and earlier versions, for which Windows no longer produces patches. If you have Windows 10, which automatically updates, you are safe. Of course your local DMV and places like that, probably do not use Windows 10, even though it is free.

  5. Pete says:

    Death penalty? I wouldn’t go that far, but I’m anti-death penalty. I would suggest that governments and private/public businesses work together to end this asap. A huge reward, the more the better, would get things started and these a-holes attention. Also, there needs to be a push for all of us to make sure we update our computer software and security. Ransomware attacks have been happening for some time and it needs to stop now. This is something that President Trump could initiate and have everyone’s support. I don’t put much stalk in Trump, as a leader, but I believe he could get this done.

  6. Joe says:

    It has shut down computers at hospitals in England…

    You can thank socialized medicine for that. In England the socialist medical systems still run Windows XP at many hospitals and clinics. It is no longer patched by MS.

  7. TruthToPower says:

    Cyber warfare

    And Obama gave away control of DNS?

    CIA looses control of it’s cyber-warfare tool chest?

    New Times, New Problems

  8. J. Soden says:

    Off topic, but HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY to all!

  9. Joe says:

    Miss Tina, Captain Jack,

    How much more of this idiocy must we endure? Could you please tell me, if this does not cry out for the state of Jefferson or an east/west split of the state then what does?

    This is your tax money at work.

    “A 57-year-old convicted killer serving a life sentence has become the first U.S. inmate to receive state-funded sex-reassignment surgery, the prisoner’s attorneys confirmed Friday.

    California prison officials agreed in August 2015 to pay for the surgery for Shiloh Heavenly Quine, who was convicted of first-degree murder, kidnapping and robbery for ransom and has no possibility of parole.

    Quine will be moved to a women’s prison after the operation, which was performed at a hospital in San Francisco, her attorneys said.

    The daughter of Quine’s victim said she objects to inmates getting taxpayer-funded surgery that is not readily available to non-criminals, regardless of the cost. ”

    http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-inmate-sex-reassignment-20170106-story.html

  10. TruthToPower says:

    Microsoft officially confirms developed the flaw that brought down hospitals this weekend.

    Real responsibility is on NHS and others who didn’t upgrade from XP.

    NSA concealed it until they realized it had leaked to #ShadowBrokers, not the public leak.

    https://blogs.microsoft.com/on-the-issues/2017/05/14/need-urgent-collective-action-keep-people-safe-online-lessons-last-weeks-cyberattack/
    https://blogs.microsoft.com/on-the-issues/2017/05/14/need-urgent-collective-action-keep-people-safe-online-lessons-last-weeks-cyberattack/

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.