World wide Hacking attack active

T

The Sound Guy

Pursuit Driver
Wow. Shows how many companies haven't upgraded their critical systems yet.

NEW YORK (AP) — Dozens of countries were hit with a huge cyberextortion attack Friday that locked up computers and held users’ files for ransom at a multitude of hospitals, companies and government agencies.

It was believed to the biggest attack of its kind ever recorded.

The malicious software behind the onslaught appeared to exploit a vulnerability in Microsoft Windows that was supposedly identified by the National Security Agency for its own intelligence-gathering purposes and was later leaked to the internet.

Britain’s national health service fell victim, its hospitals forced to close wards and emergency rooms and turn away patients. Russia appeared to be the hardest hit, according to security experts, with the country’s Interior Ministry confirming it was struck.

All told, several cybersecurity firms said they had identified the malicious software responsible for tens of thousands of attacks in more than 60 countries, including the United States, though its effects in the U.S. did not appear to be widespread, at least in the initial hours.

Computers were infected with what is known as “ransomware” — software that freezes up a machine and flashes a message demanding payment to release the user’s data. In the U.S., FedEx reported that its Windows computers were “experiencing interference” from malware, but wouldn’t say if it had been hit by ransomware.
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Scary stuff.

AP Link
 
I just surprised that hospitals and such are running Windows XP or not patching Win7 systems. Maybe this will get the management to spend the money to upgrade to supported systems.

He said many NHS hospitals in Britain use Windows XP software, introduced in 2001, and as government funding for the health service has been squeezed, “IT budgets are often one of the first ones to be reduced.”
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This is what happens when govt runs something and the burocraps have no idea what's dangerous or not.
 
I've gotten used to how old some systems are. Selling to a few large institutions, companies, etc. Most are only about 5 years behind, a few are almost up to date.

I think a lot of enforcement looks on this sort of thing as mildly irritating, and don't know how bad it impacts a lot of people. Plus, it emboldens others to try their hand at the same thing.

If a person came into an IT department, turned off all access to email, finance, records, etc. - they would be arrested and not had their hand slapped.
 
And this is my gripe regarding software: It's a none-stop cycle of patches and upgrades....and a continuous cycle of spending. The software companies push their latest releases as the next best thing only to have the same version virtually useless within a few short months.
 
J-man said:
And this is my gripe regarding software: It's a none-stop cycle of patches and upgrades....and a continuous cycle of spending. The software companies push their latest releases as the next best thing only to have the same version virtually useless within a few short months.
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Job security... :D
 
I just bought Office 2016, one of those "special" deals that Microsoft hands out to a lot of companies. $10 for a downloaded version.

Haven't installed it, really no hurry.

I get it that there need to be updates, the goal is to take care of "bugs" and open doors for the bad folk to hack in from. Still is a pain.
 
MacDaddy said:
I just bought Office 2016, one of those "special" deals that Microsoft hands out to a lot of companies. $10 for a downloaded version.

Haven't installed it, really no hurry.

I get it that there need to be updates, the goal is to take care of "bugs" and open doors for the bad folk to hack in from. Still is a pain.
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I can get that too; my daughter's work send it out.

Is that a "forever" subscription or just one year?
 
From what I'm hearing, it wasn't just outdated OS's that was hot. I read something about a Windows 10 vulnerability.
 
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