Cyberattack is ‘wake-up call’ for governments

One theory suggested that 90 percent of NHS trusts across the United Kingdom were using Microsoft’s 16-year-old OS Windows XP, which could leave them susceptible to attacks. It locks down all the files on an infected computer.

The concern is that as employees return to work Monday and fire up their desktops, they’ll fall victim to the virus that froze hundreds of thousands of computers over the weekend. It is time for the rest of us to lift our heads from the sand. More than 200,000 computers have been affected so far.

It is believed to be the biggest online extortion ever, hitting British hospitals, German rail and companies and government agencies.

The attacks began on Friday last week, when users’ computers were taken hostage by ransomware, which would not allow them to access their computers unless they paid a sum of money.

The company also cited the recent WikiLeaks releases that included leaked code for CIA programs before declaring that government agencies need to start treating cyber weapons like missiles, adding extra protection.

Two researchers in their 20’s had halted the ransomeware attack on Saturday after discovering and activating the software’s “kill switch“.

“There are reports that some computers in Nagpur were infected”. If you love to keep yourself updated with the latest developments in the tech world, you might have heard about the notorious WannaCry ransomware, which is locking down people’s computers. This situation could’ve been avoided if the users had downloaded Windows security patch released in March.

“All of the police forces in Europe are working together to find out the identity of the hackers”, Georges said. “The system that controls 5,280 computers in Mantralaya is safe”, said Vijay Kumar Gautam, principal secretary, information technology department. Microsoft also recommends running its free anti-virus software for Windows.

Computers around the globe were hacked beginning on Friday using a security flaw in Microsoft’s Windows XP operating system, an older version that was no longer given mainstream tech support by the USA giant. While the attack that emerged Friday, hitting companies and governments around the world, ebbed in intensity Monday, experts warned that new versions of the virus could emerge.

Don’t grumble when your system administrator at work takes the network down periodically to update systems, which usually includes installing new and often critical software patches.