Global “Ransomware” Cyber-Attack

A global cyber-attack has affected over 150 countries the world over.

Corina Cristea, 15.05.2017, 13:35

The unprecedented cyber-attack that made more than 200 thousand victims in at least 150 countries has generated fears of a “cyber-chaos”, cyber security experts say, warning that the virus might return in a new version. Most of this cyber attack’s victims are organisations and companies, from Russia to Spain and from Mexico to Vietnam, as hundreds of thousands of computers, most of them in Europe, have been infected with a virus that exploits a vulnerability of the Windows operation system.

The attack holds users hostage by freezing their computers, popping up a red screen with the words, “Oops, your files have been encrypted!” and demanding money through online bitcoin payment — 300 dollars at first, rising to 600 dollars before it destroys files hours later. The “ransomware” attack was particularly malicious, because if just one person in an organization clicked on an infected attachment or bad link, all the computers in a network would be infected.

Some of the people affected have already paid the ransom but experts and authorities have called on the victims not to do that, so as not to encourage such practices and given that there is no guarantee that the hackers will keep their word. Computer users have also been recommended to update their operation systems, use an anti-virus system and stock important information on an external device.

Russia is one of the countries most affected by the cyber-attack, with some of its banks’ IT systems, or the IT systems of its railway company, home affairs ministry and top mobile telephony company being hacked. Russia’s central bank, however, has announced that no data has been compromised, in spite of the massive attack. The British Health System was also highly affected by the cyber attack. The American multinational courier delivery services corporation FedEx and the German public railway company are also among the victims.

Experts with Kaspersky security software company say that Romania is among the 10 most affected countries, with some of its institutions and Renault’s Dacia Car Plant in Mioveni being targeted. Scheduled long before Friday’s cyber attack, a live cyber security national exercise is under way in Romania these days, held in collaboration with Cyberint National Centre. The exercise is aimed at practicing and evaluating the manner of handling cyber attacks, the strategy used to deal with it at an operational, tactical and strategic level, ensuring a proper security level in terms of cyber infrastructure and boosting collaboration among institutions with a view to tracing and limiting the impact of such attacks.

(Translated by Elena Enache)