‘Ransomware’ wave seemed aimed at old flaw and Ukraine

Source: http://ift.tt/2qmEMRE --- Thursday, June 29, 2017
San Francisco, United States | AFP | A global wave of cyberattacks on Tuesday exploited an already patched vulnerability in Windows software and appeared to have Ukraine as a primary target, according to computer security specialists. The first reports of trouble came from Ukrainian banks, Kiev’s main airport and Rosneft, in a major incident reminiscent of the recent WannaCry virus. WannaCry was a version of ransomware that, once in a computer, locked away data from users who were then told to pay to have access returned to their own files. The bedeviling onslaught Tuesday was also being referred to as ransomware by US software titan Microsoft and security specialists. “Our initial analysis found that the ransomware uses multiple techniques to spread, including one which was addressed by a security update previously provided for all platforms from Windows XP to Windows 10 (MS17-010),” a Microsoft spokesperson told AFP. After the WannaCry scourge in May, Microsoft called on people to protect machines with the MS17-010 patch. The flaw — and the means to exploit it — had previously been disclosed in pirated documents about cyber weapons at the US National Security Agency. Microsoft said that its anti-virus software detects and removes the ransomware used in the latest attack. Microsoft is continuing to investigate the latest cyberattack and will take necessary steps to protect customers, the spokesperson said. People were also urge ...

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