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posted by n1 on Monday May 15 2017, @12:43AM   Printer-friendly
from the mouse-and-cat dept.

[Update at 20170515_022452 UTC: Instructions for what to do on each affected version of Windows can be found at: https://www.askwoody.com/2017/how-to-make-sure-you-wont-get-hit-by-wannacrywannacrypt/ -- I've had excellent luck in the past following his advice on when and how to update Windows. Clear, hands-on instructions are a big win in my book. --martyb]

Previously: "Biggest Ransomware Attack in History" Hits Around 100 Countries, Disrupts UK's NHS.

tl;dr: If you have not already patched your Windows computer(s), you may be at risk from a new variant of the WannaCrypt ransomware worm which lacks a kill switch and was seen over the weekend. Sysadmins are preparing for a busy Monday when countless other users return to work and boot up their PC.

WannaCrypt (aka WCry), is a ransomware worm that wreaked havoc across the internet this past weekend. It disabled Windows computers at hospitals, telecoms, FedEx, and banks (among many others). Files on user's machines were encrypted and the worm demanded $300 or $600 worth of Bitcoin to decrypt (depending on how quickly you responded). Reports first surfaced Friday night and were stopped only because a researcher discovered a domain name in the code, which when registered, caused the malware to stop infecting new machines.

We're not out of the woods on this one. Not surprisingly, a variant has been seen in the wild over the weekend which has removed the domain check. Just because you may not have been hit in the initial wave of attacks does not necessarily mean you are immune.

Back in March, Microsoft released updates to Windows to patch vaguely-described vulnerabilities. Approximately one month later, a dump of purported NSA (National Security Agency) hacking tools were posted to the web. The WannaCrypt ransomware appears to be based on one of those tools. Surprisingly, the Microsoft patches blocked the vulnerability that was employed by WannaCrypt.

In a surprising move, Microsoft has just released emergency patches for out-of-mainstream-support versions of Windows (XP, 8, and Server 2003) to address this vulnerability.

Sources: Our previous coverage linked above as well as reports from the BBC Ransomware cyber-attack threat escalating - Europol, Motherboard Round Two: WannaCrypt Ransomware That Struck the Globe Is Back, and Ars Technica WCry is so mean Microsoft issues patch for 3 unsupported Windows versions.

What actions, if any, have you taken to protect your Windows machine(s) from this threat? How up-to-date are your backups? Have you tested them? If you are a sysadmin, how concerned are you about what you will be facing at work on Monday?


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  • (Score: 4, Interesting) by butthurt on Monday May 15 2017, @05:35AM

    by butthurt (6141) on Monday May 15 2017, @05:35AM (#509786) Journal

    I hear a sussuration, as though a joke were passing high overhead. I shall ignore it.

    The "kill switch," I gather, refers to a feature of the ransomware:

    [...] a researcher discovered a domain name in the code, which when registered, caused the malware to stop infecting new machines.

    As I understand it, the ransomware was not entirely coded by the NSA. I'm unsure, but it may even be true that no NSA code was included directly: that the ransomware authors used information about vulnerabilities in Windows. That information came from the Shadow Brokers, who say it originally came from the NSA; the NSA has not confirmed that. Hence the "kill switch" wasn't necessarily the NSA's creation.

    If it isn't obvious, what the Slashdot commenter seems to have meant is that the NSA is charged with advancing information security and has immense resources and expertise. The implication is that they should have registered gwea.com and used it to (temporarily) halt the spread of the malware. Instead that was done by a private person:

    http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2017/05/12/stolen-nsa-tech-shuts-down-hospitals [thedailybeast.com]

    In March, Microsoft issued patches for three of the vulnerabilities that were later disclosed by the Shadow Brokers. Microsoft didn't credit anyone for disclosing those bugs. There's been speculation that the NSA informed Microsoft about them. If that happened, it could be described as closing their own backdoor.

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