Massive global ransomware attack underscores vulnerability of critical infrastructure needed to sustain life
by: JD Heyes
NaturalNews.com
Monday, May 15, 2017
A day before a global ransomware attack crippled the National Health Service in Britain and struck Russian government offices as well as institutions in dozens of other countries, President Donald J. Trump signed an executive order instructing federal department heads to focus on strengthening cybersecurity, with an eye toward protecting critical national infrastructure like the power grid.
Some are now wondering if the order comes as too little, too late.
Cyber security experts say that the ransomware attack, which spread quickly and struck dozens of countries, will certainly not be the last. And in fact, what the world witnessed on Friday may be just a small-scale dry run for what’s to come.
What’s even more ironic is that the malware, called “WannaCry,” was stolen from the National Security Agency, a finding that will no doubt anger more than a few governments affected by it.
As reported by The Washington Post, the ransomware tied up “critical systems in hospitals, telecommunications and corporate offices” with “tens of thousands of computers in dozens of nations affected.” The attack was especially widespread in Europe, Asia and Latin America, the paper said.
Cyber security experts reported that the malware exploited a flaw in Microsoft software that the company attempted to patch in March. However, it became obvious on Friday as the attack spread that scores of users had not installed the fix.
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