On Friday, May 13th, there were over 75,000 ransomware (cyber) attacks in over 100 countries. It is now being called one of the "broadest and most damaging cyberattacks in history" (CNN). The majority of the attacks targeted Russia, Ukraine and Taiwan. However, the attacks went after more specific things in other countries. For example, in China, the universities were targeted, and in the UK, the health system was targeted.
The program used for the cyber attack was a Microsoft Program used by the United States' NSA (National Security Agency). The software was leaked, and was then used to hack into programs in countries worldwide. The software would "lock" the users out of their own programs/files, and would demand ransom money for access to their files. Many of the companies and firms targeted lost all of their information due to the fact that they could not, or would not, pay the money. An issue with paying the ransom money is the fact that the hacking program, now being called "wannacry" (because it made so many people cry) could easily be reprogrammed/tweaked. So, if someone managed to block the virus, a new version of the virus could easily be generated. I think this cyber attack is awful, and I hope that the people responsible for it are caught and imprisoned. The global attack has negatively affected millions of people, people who could lose everything due to the hack. The United States has some of the best technology in the world, so when their programs are hacked, the misuse of the information gained can be devastating, as seen through this attack. Source: http://money.cnn.com/2017/05/13/technology/ransomware-attack-nsa-microsoft/index.html
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AuthorI'm a ninth grader at Woodside Priory School. Archives
April 2017
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