Cyber attack updates: Microsoft issues ransomware warning as NHS threatened – latest news
THE cyber attack which infected NHS computers with WannaCry ransomware could escalate further, while Microsoft has issued to warning to governments and customers alike. Here are the latest news updates on the hack.
By REISS SMITH
Express.co.uk
Mon, May 15, 2017
The Wanna Decryptor ransomware, also known as WannaCry, has claimed more than 200,000 victims since Friday and was expected to infect thousands more as the world returned to work today.
The NHS was one of the worst affected organisations, with a major incident declared and more than 40 hospitals infected.
Microsoft has issued a warning to world governments about the way that they “stockpile vulnerabilities”, while Europol has said that “we are in the face of an escalating threat”.
Here is the latest news and live updates on the global cyber attack.
Monday May 15
4pm: Britain’s National Crime Agency said it had not seen a second round of ransomware cyber attacks on Monday as feared.
NCA Director General Lynne Owens said: “As things stand, there is no indication of a second surge of cases here in the UK.
“But that doesn’t mean there won’t be one. We’re trawling through huge amounts of data associated with the attack and identifying patterns.”
She said investigators are ‘working round the clock’ to secure evidence and had begun to forensically analyse a number of infected computers.
She added: “Because of the quantity of data involved and the complexity of these kinds of enquiries we need to be clear that this is an investigation which will take time.”
3.50pm: Weeks ago, NHS trusts were sent details of a security patch that would have prevented systems from being infected by the WannaCry ransomware, it has emerged.
NHS Digital issued a targeted update on a secure portal accessible to NHS staff on April 25 and sent out a bulletin to IT and security professionals two days later.
3.20pm: Professor John Walker, an expert in internet security at Nottingham Trent University, has said that there are “no guarantees” that data will be returned to those that have been hacked.
He said: “This matter is as serious as it gets, and as such there can be ‘no’ guarantees that data has been not subject to compromise.
“It is also a fact that this attack is not over yet, as the clean-up will be complex – not just to ensure that systems are working properly, but also that there are no unknown backdoors into the NHS systems. And this may never be known entirely.
The Rest…HERE
