The World Gets Hacked

Hacking can happen to anyone, at any time. It is of crucial importance to always have your personal information backed up and protected in order to not be hacked. When it happens to 150 countries, you may have a huge crisis.

It has been called the biggest cyber attack in the world. It has also been one of the most widespread attacks in a malware case. Dubbed “WannaCry”, the ransomware locks down files on infected computers and asks for money from the computer’s director in order to have control over them again. It has affected 150 countries, and researchers are worried at the havoc it is causing and what it could continue to cause.

Head of the European Union’s law enforcement agency Europol, has stated that it is still a “live threat” and that everyone is still in “disaster recovery mode”. According to CNN, the agency is still analysing what caused the attack and most importantly, who did it. Hackers in the Britain have released a new version of the virus in order for Cyber Security Organisations to get rid of it.

Also dubbed as an “unprecedented” attack, there were 200,000 victims in 150 countries which sent shock waves and had organisations from all over the world trying to help on how to combat the virus and not have the victims pay a ransom. Among the badly affected were, hospitals, government offices, and large companies. The countries that were targeted the most were Russia, Ukraine, and Taiwan. Chinese universities, FedEx, and U.K. hospitals reported they were under attack although not targeted. Some hospitals in the U.K. have even had to cancel outpatient appointments.

Banks are the number one target for cyber attacks. Being no stranger to these unprecedented attacks, they have actually escaped the attacks and very few have been affected, although that doesn’t mean they are safe since the virus is still spreading.

The main question is how is this spreading? It has been discovered that the ransomware is taking full opportunity of the new patch that Window’s just released back in March. It was an “unusual” step for the company and even if users do have the patch, they are not protected and it won’t do any good.

So far in ransom, the hackers have made over $32,000 and that number could grow this week as people going to work all over the world will want their files back and pay the ransom, even though it’s being advised not to do so if one’s company has been a victim. With 16 national health organizations being hit in the UK, digital pay systems in China, such as gas stations, forcing customers to pay cash, FedEx, telecom company Telefonica of Spain, and Megafon in Russia, and lastly Japanese carmaker Nissan in the UK, it is safe to say this has been a global disruption and caused more for crime rather than political reasons.

It is important to protect one’s computer. How? Adding extra security by purchasing an anti-virus software such as McAfee or Norton, as well as always updating your computer by keeping it up to date and ignoring all fishy emails. Although ignoring emails is a safe bet, you’re still not a hundred percent protected by “WannaCry” so it is important to always update your computer.