WannaCry, the new catchphrase is becoming popular very fast. If, you are wondering that what it is, then it is a type of malware, a malicious software designed to block your access to your computer.
It is a “Ransomware”, which means, it blocks the access to a computer and the data stored in it, and demands money in order to unlock the computer. It has attacked thousands of computers from across the globe.
This “Ransomware” is very strong and it spreads as a worm which needs only one computer on a particular network to infect. Once, a single computer is infected, it automatically spreads to all the linked computers. Once, the malware gets installed on a computer, the user gets locked out, and the hacker demands money to unlock the system.
The money is being demanded into the new virtual currency “BitCoins” and the amount varies from $300 – $600.
According to Microsoft, “It’s a Wake Up Call”
As per Microsoft, the cyber attack by the name “WannaCry” which has hit over 20,000 victims across the globe in more than 150 countries must be considered as a “Wake Up Call” by the governments worldwide.
The first instance of this type of attacks was reported in the NHS (National Healthcare Centre), England. It froze the entire system and caused disruption to such a degree that many hospitals had to refuse the patients.
As per a report published in the “Intercept”, an entity which previously had an authentic malware used by the NSA for attacking the computers across the world, has released this ransomware, which is capable of breaking into the Windows computer systems.
Are Windows Computers Safe?
As per the reports, this malware attacks the windows computers by exploiting a flaw in one of the versions of the Microsoft Windows. The attacks were made on the Windows Computers running the outdated versions of the OS.
This flaw was first identified by the authorities of the US Intelligence, and reportedly, the Microsft was alerted by NSA three months back about this issue. Afterward, an upgrade was released by the Microsoft to patch the flaw, but, several users are yet to run it.
CPF (Cyber Peace Foundation), a Ranch—based NGO accentuated that the updates should be taken seriously. It runs a research project which monitors the cyber attacks, witnessed a 56 times increase in the breach attempts at the different sensors installed across the 8 states in the country.
Well, the problem is intense, but, if you upgrade your windows system with the required upgrade, you can feel safe.