Don't assume you are protected against 'WannaCry'

On Friday, the world experienced the wrath of a well-coordinated ransomware attack, known as WannaCry. A number of large companies have already been impacted, including Britain's public health system, FedEx in the USA and Spanish telecom provider Telefonica.

As of this morning, the Chinese meida indicated that tens of thousands of Chinese companies and institutions – including several major firms in Hong Kong – have been crippled by a global cyberattack as people returned to work on Monday.

On mainland China, almost 30,000 organisations were affected, with universities bearing the brunt of the attack by ransomware WannaCry over the weekend, according to Chinese media reports.

More than 4,300 educational institutions were infected by the malware, the reports said, citing data from cybersecurity giant Qihoo 360’s Threat Intelligence Centre. Government services, hospitals, shopping malls and railway stations were also affected.

Over 20,000 petrol stations across the mainland went offline as energy giant, the China National Petroleum Corporation, cut the network connection to all its refill stations from Friday evening.

The “internet blackout” at the stations meant customers could not pay by credit card or online methods such as AliPay. By mid-day on Sunday, some 20 per cent of the company’s petrol stations remained affected, requiring customers to continue to pay in cash.

Don't assume you are protected against 'WannaCry'

The malware causing the headache right now is known as 'WannaCry'. This is one of the largest reported global ransomware attacks, shutting down hospitals and causing havoc for organisations around the world. 

Get you take back control

If you choose to pay the ransom, you are ultimately supporting organised crime. This should be the last option and reported immediately, Don't begin restoring data from backup until you have the situation under control. To seek immediate assistance or put in place strategies to take back tontrol of your computers.

Source: www.scmp.com