Global Cyber Attack - Everything You Need To Know

A fast-moving wave of cyber attacks swept the globe Friday, apparently exploiting a flaw exposed in documents leaked from the US National Security Agency. Here is what you need to know!

A Stolen NSA Tool Is Being Used in a Global Cyberattack

The shadow of ousted FBI director James Comey hung over the Senate Intelligence committee’s worldwide threat hearing yesterday. Like Banquo’s ghost in Macbeth, the presence of Comey’s absence was everywhere. But it wasn’t the most surreal aspect of the day. Here was a hearing on external threats at a moment when internal threats are growing more serious and scary than any time in recent memory. Just 24 hours later, the magnitude of that danger came into sharp focus as cyber attacks using stolen NSA tools hit an estimated 45,000 computers in more than 70 countries, disrupting Britain’s health system and sending officials from Moscow to Madrid back to paper and pens. Read more...

What We Know And Don't Know About The Global Cyber Attack

NEW YORK (NYTIMES, REUTERS) - Unknown hackers launched simultaneous attacks against computer systems around the world, holding vital information for ransom and throwing government agencies, businesses and hospitals into chaos.

More than 45,000 attacks have been recorded in as many as 74 countries, including Russia, Turkey, Vietnam, the Philippines and Japan, according to Kaspersky Labs, a Russian cybersecurity firm.

Meanwhile, researchers with security software maker Avast said they had observed 57,000 infections in 99 countries with Russia, Ukraine and Taiwan the top targets.

Among the companies and government agencies affected were FedEx, Britain's National Health Service and the Russian Interior Ministry. Read more...

Cyber-Attack Hits 99 Countries With UK Hospitals Among Targets

The blame game for what has been described by Rohyt Belani, the chief executive of email security company PhishMe, as the “atom bomb of ransomware”, has a long way to run.

The New York Times here considers whether it should be the hackers (who found and used the tool) the NSA (which appears to have had some role in exploiting a vulnerability it discovered) or the victims (organisations and people who, for a variety of reasons, did not keep their system sufficiently secure). Read more...

What is 'WanaCrypt0r 2.0' Ransomware And Why Is It Attacking The NHS?

WanaCrypt0r 2.0’ malicious software has hit the NHS, some of Spain’s largest companies including Telefónica, as well as computers across Russia, the Ukraine and Taiwan, leading to PCs and data being locked up and held for ransom.

The ransomware uses a vulnerability first revealed to the public as part of a leaked stash of NSA-related documents to infect Windows PCs and encrypt their contents, before demanding payment in the hundreds of dollars for the key to decrypt crucial files.

The co-ordinated attack had managed to infect large numbers of computers across the health service less than six hours after it was first noticed by security researchers, in part due to its ability to spread within networks from PC to PC

The ransomware has already caused hospitals across England to divert emergency patients – but what is it, how does it spread and why is this happening in the first place? Read more...

Global Cyber Attack Spreads

NEW YORK (AP) - A cyberattack that is forcing computer owners to pay hundreds of dollars in ransom to unlock their files has hit almost every corner of the world.

FedEx Corp. is confirming that it is suffering a malware attack.

A statement from the delivery company Friday said its Windows-based systems were "experiencing interference" due to malware and that it was trying to fix the issue as quickly as possible. It gave no further details.

Computer systems at companies and hospitals in dozens of countries were hit Friday, apparently part of a huge extortion plot. The so-called ransomware attack appears to exploit a weakness that was purportedly identified by the U.S. National Security Agency and leaked to the internet. It encrypts data on infected computers and demands payment before the information is unencrypted. Read more...

Hackers Hit Dozens Of Countries Exploiting Stolen N.S.A. Tool

SAN FRANCISCO — Hackers exploiting malicious software stolen from the National Security Agency executed damaging cyberattacks on Friday that hit dozens of countries worldwide, forcing Britain’s public health system to send patients away, freezing computers at Russia’s Interior Ministry and wreaking havoc on tens of thousands of computers elsewhere.

The attacks amounted to an audacious global blackmail attempt spread by the internet and underscored the vulnerabilities of the digital age.

Transmitted via email, the malicious software locked British hospitals out of their computer systems and demanded ransom before users could be let back in — with a threat that data would be destroyed if the demands were not met.

NZ Computers Caught Up In Global Cyberattack

Computers in thousands of locations have apparently been locked by a programme, WannaCry, that demands $300 ($NZD430) in Bitcoin.

There have been reports of infections in as many as 100 countries, including several in New Zealand, a live-tracking map of the attack shows.

The government's cyber emergency response team (CERT) said it was aware of the ransomware and was working on how to advise those affected.

It said the attack will likely take the shape of a phishing email with a malicious attachment or link in it and exploits machines running un-updated versions of Windows XP through to Windows 2008.

Once a single computer in a network is infected with WannaCry, the programme looks for other vulnerable computers on the network and infects them as well. Read more...

Hackers Use Tools Stolen From NSA In Worldwide Cyber Attack

Hackers used cyberweapons stolen from the US National Security Agency to strike organisations across the globe on Friday, from the UK’s National Health Service to European telecoms company Telefónica and FedEx of the US, the Financial Times has learnt. Read more...

Massive International Cyber Attack Hits Computers Across Europe, Asia And Russia

London/Madrid: A global cyberattack leveraging hacking tools widely believed by researchers to have been developed by the US National Security Agency hit international shipper FedEx, disrupted Britain's health system and infected computers in nearly 100 countries on Friday.

Cyber extortionists tricked victims into opening malicious malware attachments to spam emails that appeared to contain invoices, job offers, security warnings and other legitimate files. Read more...

Here's some more...

Hackers exploit stolen US spy agency tool to launch global cyberattack

Economic Times

LONDON/MADRID: A global cyberattack leveraging hacking tools widely believed by researchers to have been developed by the US National Security Agency ...

Stolen spy tool used in massive global cyber attack

Newstalk ZB

Researchers believe hacking tools developed by the US National Security Agency were used in a global cyber attack that hit international shipper FedEx, ...

Australia on alert after cyber attack

9news.com.au

Australian organisations do not appear to have been affected by a massive global malware attack but the federal government says it is taking precautions.

Global cyberattack: NZ's spy agency strengthening security

New Zealand Herald

New Zealand's spy agency is "taking steps" to strengthen the cyber security of government departments, critical infrastructure and big business as a ransomware ...

Britain's health service paralyzed in massive international cyber attack

CBS News

Hackers demanding money targeting computer systems all over the world on Friday, ... Global cyberattack strikes dozens of countries, cripples U.K. hospitals.

Global Extortion Cyber Attack Spreads to 70 Countries, Russia Hit ...

News18

London: A huge extortion cyberattack hit dozens of nations Friday, holding computer data for ransom at hospitals, telecommunications firms and other ...

'Accidental hero' finds kill switch to stop spread of ransomware cyber ...

The Guardian

'Accidental hero' finds kill switch to stop spread of ransomware cyber-attack ... An “accidental hero” has halted the global spread of the WannaCry ransomware ...

A global cyberattack on hospitals and other organizations so far ...

Recode

An official at the Department of Homeland Security says they've received no confirmed reports that critical infrastructure has been affected. by Tony ...