More Victims Expected in Worldwide Cyber Attack
Cybersecurity experts expect there will be more people falling victim to the worldwide cyberattack that hit on Friday.
An unprecedented global ransomware attack that hit at least 100,000 organizations in 150 countries is expected to spread to thousands of more computers as people return to work on Monday and log in for the first time since the massive online attack began.
The attack, believed to have begun on Friday, is the biggest online extortion attack ever recorded, spreading across the world and inciting panic as it rendered computers useless, including the technology needed to run Britain’s hospital network, Germany’s national railway and scores of others companies, factories and government agencies.
A BBC analysis determined that about $38,000 had already been paid to those behind the attacks, and expects those numbers to go up as users log on Monday and those already infected give into the demands of the hackers.
The hackers pulled of the attack by emailing malware called “WannaCry,” allegedly stolen from the National Security Agency. It only affects Microsoft Windows systems. Once WannaCry enters a PC, it locks all the files it finds while the hackers ask users to pay to unlock them.
The United States wasn’t as badly hit has other countries because a cybersecurity expert was able to slow the spread of the malware before it could do much damage.
If you’re logging into a PC this morning, make sure your tech is updated. Microsoft was quick to send out a security patch for the vulnerability.