WannaCry Ransomware Update: Microsoft Says This Is Why Governments Must Stop 'Stockpiling Vulnerabilities'; Experts See North Korea Links
A Microsoft executive recently commented that the worldwide WannaCry ransomware cyberattack is proof "why the stockpiling of vulnerabilities by governments is such a problem." Meanwhile, information technology experts have recently reported probable links of the attackers to North Korea.
By the start of this week, the world woke up to one of the most widespread and scariest cyberattacks in the world's history that uses a specific kind of ransomware dubbed as WannaCrypt, aka WannaCry.
Microsoft: WannaCry is Why Governments Should Not Stash Exploits
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Shortly after experts started looking into how the massive cyberattack was carried out successfully, the world learned that the ransomware was able to spread over large parts of Europe through hacked exploits that have been reportedly stashed by the United States' National Security Agency.
Microsoft's statement — which calls for "urgent collective action to keep people safe online" — came from their president and chief legal officer, Brad Smith, and was posted through the company's blog site.
Smith added: "We have seen vulnerabilities stored by the CIA show up on WikiLeaks ... Repeatedly, exploits in the hands of governments have leaked into the public domain and caused widespread damage."
Smith also called on governments around the world to treat this massive attack as a "wake-up call." The Microsoft executive even likened the situation to where "conventional weapons" of the U.S. military like Tomahawk missiles were being stolen.
Smith also acknowledged that technology firms like Microsoft "have the first responsibility" to work on these kinds of attack. He added, "This attack demonstrates the degree to which cybersecurity has become a shared responsibility between tech companies and customers."
North Korea Links?
One of the latest developments on the WannaCry worldwide attack is its suspected links to North Korea, as per experts' reports.
Kaspersky and Symantec, some of the most renowned IT security companies in the world, have both shared their discoveries that the WannaCry ransomware attack has its links to the Lazarus Group — a notorious crew of North Korean hackers.
Several IT experts found similarities in the code used for the WannaCry attack and on some other cyber heist carried out in the previous years that were allegedly perpetrated by the Lazarus Group.
On the other hand, Kaspersky encouraged other IT security experts around the globe to pitch in on the investigations so the world can know more about WannaCry as well as its origin and the culprits behind it.
WannaCry works just like most ransomwares do: it enters a computer system through an unresolved exploit, automatically encrypts files and extorts money (in this case, attackers demand Bitcoin) from the victims in exchange of the locked up contents.
The main difference with WannaCry and other ransomwares is the attack's scope — it practically launches simultaneous attacks across continents, thus paralyzing companies, organizations and even government agencies.
