Ransomware infections are never a pleasant topic to discuss on a Monday morning. However, we have to address the world-wide attacks against Internet users when thousands of personal computers and even business enterprises were hit. The massive attack occurred all over the globe: in the United States of America, Europe, Africa and Asia. The primary targeted country was indicated to be Russia. To read more information about this variant, read our article.
This is probably one of those times when everybody is in the same body as WannaCry ransomware is not planning to stop anytime soon. There are a number of aliases to refer to this specific variant: WanaCryptor, Wana Decryptor, Wanna Crypt but they all refer to the same crypto-virus that had managed to affect tons of devices with Windows operating systems.
To foresee a massive ransomware outbreak is impossible. In this case, WannaCry definitely got everyone talking about it in a couple of hours. The first signs of this infection were noticed in the United Kingdom when healthcare industry services indicated to be unable to access their systems. Instead, they faced a lock-screen, demanding money. A number of corporations and business companies landed a ransomware infection, and some of them even had to temporarily stop their affairs until everything is back in order. Educational institutions, airports, telecommunication services also got absorbed into the hurricane.
Having infected thousands of computers, WannaCry ransomware was soon prevented from continuing with its activity. Researcher from MalwareTechBlog managed to introduce a temporary solution. However, we have to emphasize that this solution won’t last for long as hackers swill presumably find techniques to renew their activity. Over the weekend, no new infections were registered, but a similar outburst was predicted to occur on Monday. So far so good, but the new workday has only begun and various companies should be extremely careful not to become victims of a ransomware.
WannaCry infection itself is spreading with a worm, slithering into devices because of an unfixed vulnerability. The only way to become immune to this crypto-virus is to update Windows operating systems. Since a new outbreak might occur this week, users are recommended to prepare for it.
As we have mentioned, the most important thing is to update your OS. Do not open unknown URLs or attachments that are recommended in bizarre email letters. Also, protect your computers with reliable anti-malware tools that will help you maintain a secure system.
We are not surprised that WannaCry ransomware became an inspiration for hackers to develop similar variants. Such samples like DarkoderCryptor, Aron WanaCryptor 2.0 Generator v1 and other in-dev viruses were detected today. This is a very disturbing news to write: the outburst of WannaCry triggered a number of copy-cats that have comparable structure. Until everything is sorted out, we have to suggest that you browse extremely carefully and avoid websites, content from unknown sources.
However, this WannaCry devastation certainly triggered a series of articles, discussing ransomware infections in general and providing tips on how they can be avoided. Aside from being a terrible news, this chaos might be a wake up call for many people to stop engaging in potentially dangerous activity online.
Source: indianexpress.com
