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WannaCry cyber attack
Screenshot of the ransom note left on an infected system
Date12 May 2017 (2017-05-12) (ongoing)
LocationWorldwide
Also known asWannaCrypt, WanaCrypt0r. WCRY
TypeCyber-attack
ThemeRansomware encrypting hard disk with $300 demand
CauseEternalBlue exploit
ParticipantsUnknown
OutcomeMore than 230,000 computers infected[1]

WannaCry (or WannaCrypt,[2] WanaCrypt0r 2.0,[3][4] Wanna Decryptor[5] or similar[a]) is a ransomware program targeting Microsoft Windows.[6] On Friday, 12 May 2017, a large cyber-attack using it was launched, infecting over 230,000 computers in 150 countries, demanding ransom payments in bitcoin in 28 languages.[7] The attack has been described by Europol as unprecedented in scale.[8] The attack affected Telefónica, FedEx, Deutsche Bahn[9][10], and the UK's National Health Service (NHS)[11][12][13], among other corporate and governmental entities.[14]

WannaCry is believed to use the EternalBlue exploit, which was developed by the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA)[15][16] to attack computers running Microsoft Windows operating systems.[4][17] Although a patch to remove the underlying vulnerability had been issued on 14 March 2017,[18] users who delayed in applying security updates, or use unsupported versions of Windows, were left vulnerable.[19] Microsoft has taken the unusual step of releasing updates for the unsupported Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 and patches for Windows 8 operating systems.[2][20]

Shortly after the May 12 attack, several lines of code were found by an anti-malware researcher to function as a kill switch, and was activated by the researcher. This temporarily stopped the spreading of the virus. The code was initially reported in the media as a built-in kill switch; however, some analysts concluded that it was a programming mistake.[21]

Background

The purported infection vector, EternalBlue, was released by the hacker group The Shadow Brokers on 14 April 2017,[22][23] along with other tools apparently leaked from Equation Group, which is believed to be part of the United States National Security Agency.[24][25]

EternalBlue exploits vulnerability MS17-010[18] in Microsoft's implementation of the Server Message Block (SMB) protocol. Microsoft had released a "Critical" advisory, along with an update patch to plug the vulnerability a month before, on 14 March 2017.[18] This patch fixed several workstation versions of the Microsoft Windows operating system including Windows Vista and Windows 8 as well as server versions such as Windows Server 2008, but not the older Windows XP, according to Microsoft.[18]

Starting from 21 April 2017, security researchers started reporting that computers with the DOUBLEPULSAR backdoor installed were in the tens of thousands.[26] By April 25, reports estimated the number of infected computers to be up to several hundred thousands, with numbers varying between 55,000 to nearly 200,000, growing everyday.[27][28]

Attack

Countries initially affected[29]

On 12 May 2017, WannaCry began affecting computers worldwide.[30] The initial infection might have been either through a vulnerability in the network defenses or a very well-crafted spear phishing attack.[31] When executed, the malware first checks the "kill switch" website. If it is not found, then the ransomware encrypts the computer's data,[32][33][34] then attempts to exploit the SMB vulnerability to spread out to random computers on the Internet,[35] and "laterally" to computers on the same Local Area Network (LAN).[36] As with other modern ransomware, the payload displays a message informing the user that files have been encrypted, and demands a payment of around $300 in bitcoin within three days or $600 within 7 days.[33][37]

The Windows vulnerability is not a zero-day flaw, but one for which Microsoft had made available a security patch on 14 March 2017,[18] nearly two months before the attack. The patch was to the Server Message Block (SMB) protocol used by Windows.[38][39] Organizations that lacked this security patch were affected for this reason, although there is so far no evidence that any were specifically targeted by the ransomware developers.[38] Any organization still running the older Windows XP[40] was at particularly high risk because until 13 May,[2] no security patches had been released since April 2014.[41] Following the attack, Microsoft released a security patch for Windows XP.[2]

Although another ransomware was spread through messages from a bank about a money transfer around the same time, no evidence for an initial email phishing campaign has been found in this case.[42]

Impact

The ransomware campaign was unprecedented in scale according to Europol.[8] The attack affected many National Health Service hospitals in the UK,[43] and up to 70,000 devices – including computers, MRI scanners, blood-storage refrigerators and theatre equipment – may have been affected.[44] On 12 May, some NHS services had to turn away non-critical emergencies, and some ambulances were diverted.[11][45] In 2016, thousands of computers in 42 separate NHS trusts in England were reported to be still running Windows XP.[40] Nissan Motor Manufacturing UK in Tyne and Wear, one of Europe's most productive car manufacturing plants, halted production after the ransomware infected some of their systems. Renault also stopped production at several sites in an attempt to stop the spread of the ransomware.[46][47]

List of affected organizations

  • STC (Sadui Arabia)

    • Response

    Several hours after the initial release of the ransomware on 12 May 2017, a researcher with the Twitter handle 'MalwareTech' discovered what amounted to be a "kill switch" hardcoded in the malware.[69][70][71] This allowed the spread of the initial infection to be halted by registering a domain name.[72] However, variants without the kill switch were detected the next day.[73][74][75] In an unusual move, Microsoft created security patches for several now-unsupported versions of Windows, including Windows XP, Windows 8 and Windows Server 2003.[76]

    British Prime Minister Theresa May said of the ransomware, "This is not targeted at the NHS. It is an international attack. A number of countries and organizations have been affected."[77] However, tech experts have said that the effects of the hack were exacerbated by Conservative underfunding of the NHS as part of the government's austerity measures, in particular the Department of Health's refusal to pay extra to Microsoft in order to keep protecting outdated Windows XP systems from such attacks.[78] Home secretary Amber Rudd refused to say whether patient data had been backed up, and shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth accused health secretary Jeremy Hunt of refusing to act on a critical note from Microsoft two months previously, as other warnings from the National Cyber Security Centre and National Crime Agency.[79]

    Reactions

    Upon learning about the impact on the NHS, Edward Snowden said that had the NSA "privately disclosed the flaw used to attack hospitals when they found it, not when they lost it, [the attack] may not have happened".[80]

    British cybersecurity expert Graham Cluley also sees "some culpability on the part of the U.S. intelligence services". According to him and others "they could have done something ages ago to get this problem fixed, and they didn't do it". Furthermore he notes that most people "are living an online life," and that these agencies, despite obvious uses for such tools to spy on people of interest, have a duty to protect their countries' citizens in that realm as well.[81] The Guardian wrote that the attack shows that the practice of intelligence agencies to stockpile exploits for offensive purposes rather than disclosing them for defensive purposes may be problematic.[82] The article argued that the U.K. government's apparent inability to secure vulnerabilities "opens a lot of questions about backdoors and access to encryption that the government argues it needs from the private sector for security".[82]

    Arne Schönbohm, President of Germany's Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) states that "the current attacks show how vulnerable our digital society is. It's a wake up call for companies to finally take IT-security seriously".[39]

    James Scott from the Institute of Critical Infrastructure Technology, stated that ransomware emerged "as an epidemic" in 2016 with the healthcare sector being particularly vulnerable. He states that "the staff have no cyber-hygiene training, they click on phishing links all the time. The sad thing is they weren't backing up their data properly either, so that's a big problem."[83]

    The Chicago Tribune noted that the attack's impact could have been much worse if no kill-switch was built into the malware.[84][82]

    Cybersecurity expert Ori Eisen notes that the attack appears to be "low-level" stuff, given the ransom demands of $300 and states that the same thing could be done to crucial infrastructure, like nuclear power plants, dams or railway systems.[85]

    Iranian Cyberspace​ Police issued a security alert to all Internet users in the country, encouraging people and organizations to update their operating systems.[86]

    See also

    2

    References

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    3. ^ Jakub Kroustek (12 May 2017). "Avast reports on WanaCrypt0r 2.0 ransomware that infected NHS and Telefonica". Avast Security News. Avast Software, Inc.
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    1. ^ Also known by similar names.

    External links

    source: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=WannaCry_cyber_attack&oldid=780363294

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