Jigar Jobanputra

The internet world was recently taken by storm by a malicious software that locked people out of their computers. Already declared as a critical threat to cyber-security, India’s Cyber Security organisation – CERT has organised a special   webcast   on the ransomware, informing Indian users about its threat and how to protect themselves from it. What is WannaCry Ransomware? The ransomware, known as   WannaCry   or   WanaCrypt0r 2.0 , locked up the files on computers across 2 dozen countries and asked the users for a ransom in exchange of access to their own files. The large-scale attack hit NHS hospitals across London, delivery giant FedEx, Spanish Telecom firm Telefonica, Japan’s Nissan Motor Co, German Deutsche Bahn rail network and more such firms. The global cyber-attack made use of a glitch in Microsoft Windows which the attackers claim to have gained from a secret NSA server, the United State’s National Security Agency. How does it affect systems...

London:  A huge extortion cyberattack hit dozens of nations Friday, holding computer data for ransom at hospitals, telecommunications firms and other companies. The attack appeared to exploit a vulnerability purportedly identified for use by the US National Security Agency and later leaked to the internet. The attack hit Britain's health service, forcing affected hospitals to close wards and emergency rooms. Related attacks were reported in Spain, Portugal and Russia. Two security firms — Kaspersky Lab and Avast — said they had identified the malware behind the attack in upward of 70 countries, although both said the attack has hit Russia hardest. The Russian Interior Ministry has confirmed it was hit by the "ransomware" attack, which encrypts data on infected computers and demands payment, usually via digital currency bitcoin, to release it. Britain's health service was also hit hard Friday as the attack froze computers at hospitals across the country, ...