Telefónica and other firms have been infected by WannaCry NHS malware - Business Insider
Its been on LBC Radio for last two hours. It would appear that quiet alot if not most of the NHS computer systems are still running on ... WINDOWS XP. I realise Microsoft still patch XP if you pay for it .. but .. not very wise to still have XP puters in a system.There's a massive set of cyberattacks affecting hospitals and telecoms companies across Europe right now — but it isn't clear whether the hacks are connected.Telefónica seems to be the first company affected, after it told employees today to stop working and shut down their computers,according to Spanish newspaper El Mundo.
The NHS in the UK has also been attacked, with at least 15 organisations around the country affected by the attack. Hospitals have been closed and operations cancelled at short notice, and medical staff have resorted to pen and paper to work.
Both NHS and Telefónica confirmed the attacks. They both said they had been hit by versions of the "WannaCry" ransomware — malicious software which encrypts the information on a device, then demands a ransom to return it. According to user reports on Twitter, the ransomware asks users to pay $300 in Bitcoin.
Some 85% of Telefónica's computers have reportedly been affected.
The Ransomware variant is called WANNACRY
Then came this:
An NSA Cyber Weapon Might Be Behind A Massive Global Ransomware Outbreak
If you see this screen on your system .. your only hope is that you have a decent recent backupIt's been a matter of weeks since a shady hacker crew called Shadow Brokers dumped a load of tools believed to belong to the National Security Agency (NSA). It now appears one NSA tool, an exploit of Microsoft Windows called EternalBlue, is being used as one method of spreading a ransomware variant called WannaCry across the world.
The ransomware has hit UK hospitals hard, with multiple sources reporting closures of entire wards and some National Health Service (NHS) staff being sent home.
Word is this is world wide. Main focus is in EUROPE at the moment ..
FEDX have just told their businesses to turn off systems.
https://twitter.com/craiu/status/863076786887852032
So far, we have recorded more than 45,000 attacks of the #WannaCry ransomware in 74 countries around the world. Number still growing fast.