This week was moved to Security level. A massive attack hit a systems worldwide. The purpose of the attack: money! Yes, the usual motivation has caused the “WannaCrypt0r” virus to spread around the world and demand money to free computers.
The virus, classified as ransomware, blocks access to all files on the infected computer, and only allows access after paying $ 300 in bitcoins.
How was the virus stopped?
The virus came with a "shutdown button" hidden in its source code. The program made a request to a specific domain and, if the domain was online, it would stop spreading.
It is a common mechanism in this type of attacks, in order to keep the virus under control, nobody would like to be destroyed by their own creation. The solution was discovered by the MalwareTech , which developed the map to track in real time the virus "WannaCrypt0r".
Publications around the world indicate that the solution was found by accident, after the researcher registered the domain capable of stopping the attack for only GBP 10, but just read the author's article to verify that it is a professional and I knew exactly what I was doing., thus saving many companies ...
But the warning continues, this is a temporary solution, it will only serve to slow the spread of the attack.
Version 1 of WannaCrypt was stoppable but version 2.0 will likely remove the flaw. You're only safe if you patch ASAP.
- MalwareTech (@MalwareTechBlog) May 14, 2017
How to protect yourself “definitely”?
