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SECURITY AGENCIES ARE hunting for those behind a crippling cyber attack which has so far hit hundreds of thousands of computers worldwide.
Although only one health service agency in Co Wexford is known to have been affected in Ireland, successful attacks around the world have hit government agencies, factories and health services.
Here is what we know so far about the cyber ransom attacks.
What happened?
The cyber attacks started Friday and spread rapidly around the globe using a security flaw in Microsoft’s Windows XP operating system, an older version that is no longer given mainstream tech support by the US giant.
The so-called WannaCry ransomware locks access to user files and in an on-screen message demands payment of €275 euros in the virtual currency Bitcoin in order to decrypt the files.
Victims have been advised by security experts not to pay up.
The attack is unique, according to policing agency Europol, because it combines ransomware with a worm function, meaning once one machine is infected, the entire internal network is scanned and other vulnerable machines are infected.
Who has been affected?
Europol chief Rob Wainwright said computer systems in more than 150 countries were hit, with the majority of organisations affected over the weekend in Europe.
The story broke here when it was reported that the UK’s NHS was hit by the attack on Friday, but so far there hasn’t been a much-feared second attack.
But as Asia woke up to the working week today, leading Chinese security-software provider Qihoo 360 said “hundreds of thousands” of computers in the country were hit at nearly 30,000 institutions including government agencies.
In Japan, a spokesman for Hitachi said the conglomerate discovered problems on Monday morning and its computer networks were “unstable”.
Other high-profile victims include hospitals in Britain, the Spanish telecoms giant Telefonica, French carmaker Renault, US package delivery company FedEx, Russia’s interior ministry and the German rail operator Deutsche Bahn.
Where did the malware come from?
Brad Smith, Microsoft’s president and chief legal officer, said in a blog post yesterday that the culprits used a code developed by the US National Security Agency.
It was leaked as part of a document dump, according to researchers at the Moscow-based computer security firm Kaspersky Lab.
Smith warned governments against stockpiling such vulnerabilities and said instead they should report them to manufacturers – not sell, store or exploit them, lest they fall into the wrong hands.
“An equivalent scenario with conventional weapons would be the US military having some of its Tomahawk missiles stolen,” Smith wrote.
The governments of the world should treat this attack as a wake up call.
Who was behind the attack?
Europol said today it was continuing to hunt for the culprits behind the unprecedented attack.
The agency’s senior spokesman Jan Op Gen Oorth said it was still “a bit early too say who is behind it, but we are working on a decrypting tool”.
Experts think it unlikely to have been one person, with criminally minded cyber crime syndicates nowadays going underground and using ever more sophisticated encryption to hide their activities.
How can people protect their computers?
Microsoft took the unusual step of reissuing security patches first made available in March for Windows XP and other older versions of its operating system.
Kaspersky said it was seeking to develop a decryption tool “as soon as possible”.
Europol said European companies and governments had heeded warnings and as a result avoided further fallout from the ransomware.
“It seems that a lot of internet security guys over the weekend did their homework and ran the security software updates,” Jan Op Gen Oorth told AFP.
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Friend of mine from Madrid tells me Spain is done with the old guard monarchy and politically alike. They are moving towards a citizens rights based country they want a government and system that works for them not against them and there not going to stop until they achieve it. Good luck to them thats what you call moving forward and progress it I the 21st century not the 18th . The Monarchy and establishment are shitting themselves and rightly so. They sabotaged their own existence by lazyness and greed.
B-Egan for your information, Spain is a democratic country where the rule of law is applied, as much as Ireland.
“Citizens rights based country” What is that? Would you mind to explain?
In Spain like in any other democratic country, power brings corruption.
The law is applied, corrupts finish in court or jail and the public express their opinion through their voting.
The centre-right governing party will lose the next election (despite doing a decent economic job) and the left wing (very left in this occasion) will win. Then they will destroy the economy again and the centre right will come back. That is the democratic process, here and in Spain.
All governments will have some corruption, both will have the judiciary going after some of them.
This is the reality, the good news is the control of corruption is tighter and the level of tolerance lower than ever.
Regarding Monarchy or Republic, I enjoy our republican dribble every time the British royal family have a new baby or jubilee or a wedding or visit a castle. It is a show for the media and a monarch is much more attractive than a president.
100% Jo. The Journal is full of commentators that don’t understand democracy led by AAA, Sinn Fein of all shades, anti water, anti property tax. All single issue promise the sun, moon and stars groups that always get gobbled up when the people have to make a decision in the round at election time.
Monarchy..? Feudal theft.. Yet we still pander and fawn to these parasites., particularly the Windsor spongers of our nearest neighbour.. Over 200 yrs since the enlightenment and we still stand in awe of these scroungers. Mind boggles..
Is her dad still murdering the wildlife in Africa .
next time the media go on a welfare whichhunt against the poor. could they please include the rich that steal our taxes. I’d say welfare fraud pales in comparison to tax fraud perpetrated by the already wealthy.
The got something wrong there buddy.
Question: Who steals taxes? Answer: Governments. Any government who promises to rob Peter to pay Paul will always have Paul’s vote.
Question: Who avoids or evades taxes? Answer: anyone that can.
Happens from top to bottom in all societies. History of man and society.
Question: Why does it happen? Answer: Because most people know that massive amounts of tax collected is wasted and divided up between them by the insiders, namely those in the public pay by both salary and welfare.
Nobody on the receiving end protects the tax payer by driving real savings and reform. Taxes always increase even when they reduce the rate.
Do we want to start listing were the waste is?
Is not tax fraud is corruption the issue! Read a bit more.
Vicko it boils down to one thing and that’s money. you can be sure they’re not being accused of being to generous to the poor. these people acquired their money through nepotism and war.
my comment merely called them welfare claimants and it’s deleted, sound….
Somebody think of the children
have your say