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A2 UP FRONT
Saturday 13 May 2017
Dozens of countries hit by huge cyberextortion attack
By ANICK JESDANUN and then $600, said Kurt
JILL LAWLESS Baumgartner, a security re-
ARITZ PARRA searcher at Kaspersky Lab.
Associated Press Chris Wysopal of the soft-
NEW YORK (AP) — Dozens ware security firm Vera-
of countries were hit with code said criminal orga-
a huge cyberextortion at- nizations were probably
tack Friday that locked up behind the attack, given
computers and held users’ how quickly the malware
files for ransom at a mul- spread. “For so many or-
titude of hospitals, com- ganizations in the same
panies and government day to be hit, this is unprec-
agencies. edented,” Wysopal said.
It was believed to the The security holes it exploits
biggest attack of its kind were disclosed several
ever recorded. The mali- weeks ago by TheShadow-
cious software behind the Brokers, a mysterious group
onslaught appeared to that has published what it
exploit a vulnerability in says are hacking tools used
Microsoft Windows that by the NSA as part of its in-
was supposedly identified telligence-gathering.
by the National Security Shortly after that disclosure,
Agency for its own intelli- This image provided by the Twitter page of @fendifille shows a computer at Greater Preston CCG Microsoft announced that
gence-gathering purposes as Britain’s National Health Service is investigating “an issue with IT” Friday May 12, 2017. Several it had already issued soft-
and was later leaked to the British hospitals say they are having major computer problems Hospitals in London, northwest ware “patches” for those
internet. Britain’s national England and other parts of the country are reporting problems with their computer systems as the holes.
health service fell victim, result of an apparent cyberattack. But many companies and
(@fendifille via AP)
individuals haven’t in-
its hospitals forced to close stalled the fixes yet or are
wards and emergency using older versions of Win-
rooms and turn away pa- dows that Microsoft no lon-
tients. Russia appeared ger supports and didn’t fix.
to be the hardest hit, ac- By Kaspersky Lab’s count,
cording to security experts, the malware struck at least
with the country’s Interior 74 countries. In addition to
Ministry confirming it was Russia, the biggest targets
struck. All told, several cy- appeared to be Ukraine
bersecurity firms said they and India, nations where
had identified the mali- it is common to find older,
cious software in upward unpatched versions of Win-
of 60 countries, including dows in use, according to
the United States, though the security firm.
its effects in the U.S. did not Hospitals across Britain
appear to be widespread, found themselves without
at least in the initial hours. access to their computers
Computers were infect- or phone systems. Many
ed with what is known as canceled all routine pro-
“ransomware” — software cedures and asked pa-
that freezes up a machine tients not to come to the
and flashes a message de- hospital unless it was an
manding payment to re- emergency.
lease the user’s data. Doctors’ practices and
Mikko Hypponen, chief re- pharmacies reported simi-
search officer at the Hel- lar problems.
sinki-based cybersecurity Patrick Ward, a 47-year-old
company F-Secure, called sales director, said his heart
it “the biggest ransomware operation, scheduled for
outbreak in history.” Friday, was canceled at
Security experts said the St. Bartholomew’s Hospital
attack appeared to be in London. Tom Griffiths,
caused by a self-replicat- who was at the hospital for
ing piece of software that chemotherapy, said sev-
enters companies and or- eral cancer patients had
ganizations when employ- to be sent home because
ees click on email attach- their records or bloodwork
ments, then spreads quick- couldn’t be accessed.
ly internally from computer “Both staff and patients
to computer when em- were frankly pretty ap-
ployees share documents palled that somebody,
and other files. whoever they are, for com-
Its ransom demands start mercial gain or otherwise,
at $300 and increase af- would attack a health care
ter two hours to $400, $500 organization,” he said. q
