Things will never be the same again after the global ransomware attack last Friday, 12 May 2017.
Businesses and individuals are still shell-shocked at what damage that cyber threats can do.
Just what is WannaCry?
WannaCry uses an exploit known as EternalBlue that was developed by the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA), which used it to go after targets of its own.
EternalBlue and other NSA hacking tools were leaked online last year by a group known as the Shadow Brokers, putting these powerful tools in the hands of anyone capable enough to use them.
Who was affected?
As we predicted previously, it wasn’t far from home. Singapore businesses were hit with the ransomware.
Read about the Channel News Asia’s report on about WannaCry ransomware here and about the ransomware attack on the digital directories for Tiong Bahru Plaza here.
In other parts of the world, UK’s National Health Service (NHS) was affected, read more about the report made by the Guardian.
I’ve also read that it is over. Is it true?
Yes and no.
While WannaCry was hindered by a cyber security researcher in the UK known to us as MalwareTech, it merely slowed the spread of the ransomware and it shows no sign of stopping.
Slowing this strain of the ransomware down does not necessarily means that new, and more powerful variants of the same, or similar ransomware won’t hit you, or your business.
What can You do to protect yourself?
For both individuals and businesses alike, be sure to:
1. Have a reputable next-generation anti-virus installed;
2. Have at least two copies of your important files backed up. One locally, and another in an off-site location (i.e. cloud);
3. Keep your Operating System (OS) and third party applications updated;
4. Exercise caution when clicking on links in emails, and on websites; and
5. Use different and strong (alphanumerical) passwords for all your accounts.