Hunt the hackers: Gang behind ‘unprecedented’ attack using ‘atom bomb of malware’ which has now spread to 130,000 systems in more than 100 countries are targeted by global task force
Hackers hit dozens of countries on Friday by exploiting a stolen ‘superweapon’
The cyber attack rapidly spread and infected computers across the globe
Europol launching investigation to track down the culprits and help victims
Hackers are believed to have exploited the NSA tool, which was stolen and released to the world by a group known as the Shadow Brokers last month
British hospitals, the Russian government, Spanish telecoms firm, Renault factories and German railways were among those affected by the cyber attack
Victims reported in more than 100 countries including Germany, Spain and USA
By JOSEPH CURTIS
DailyMail.com
13 May 2017
More than 100 countries across the world have been affected by the ‘unprecedented’ cyber attack using a computer virus ‘superweapon’ dubbed the ‘atom bomb of malware’.
It is believed more than 130,000 IT systems are affected around the world, including hospitals in the UK, telecoms and gas firms in Spain, schools in China, railways in Germany and the FedEx delivery company.
The European Union’s police agency, Europol, says it is working with countries hit by the ransomware scam to rein in the threat, help victims and track down the criminals.
In a statement, Europol’s European Cybercrime Centre, known as EC3, said the attack ‘is at an unprecedented level and will require a complex international investigation to identify the culprits.’
EC3 says its Joint Cybercrime Action Taskforce, made up of experts in high-tech crime, ‘is specially designed to assist in such investigations and will play an important role in supporting the investigation.’
The attack, which has locked up computers and held users’ files for ransom, is believed the biggest of its kind ever recorded.
It used code developed by the US National Security Agency which was leaked online last month by a mysterious group called the Shadow Brokers.
The culprits are still unknown but it is understood criminal gangs will be investigated and it is likely Russia – which suffered the most from the attack – will form a large part of the inquiry.
The Rest…HERE
