Many organizations and companies in Singapore must have heaved a sigh of relief after learning that they are safe from global ransomware attack known as WannaCry. But their counterparts in other nations were unfortunate. The attack of WannaCry has infected over 2, 50000 computers across the world last Friday. And the list of victims includes many corporations and government bodies, including some big names like……
Many companies have survived the attack just because they had their systems checked at the weekend.
“As of this afternoon, no critical information infrastructure has been affected”, said Mr Dan Yock Hau who is director at the National Cyber Incident Response Centre. The centre is a body of the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore (CSA).
CSA has teamed up with telcos Singtel and StarHub to start helplines to provide suggestions on recovering from the ransomware attack. Besides, it has been keeping the track of the global situation.
WannaCry Strikes Big Player’s Computers Across the World
China is one of the most affected nations in Asia with thousands of computers infected by WannaCry.
Renault, a French automobile company, has paused the operations in several of its facilities, while German Railway company Deutsche Bahn have malfunctioned ticket machines and screens after the virus attack. The virus didn’t even spare Interior Ministry of Russia. Dharmais Cancer Hospital in Jakarta, Indonesia’s largest facility, access to patients’ medical records was denied after the attack.
The hacked computers are displaying a note asking for a ransom of US$300 (S$420), threatening that their encrypted data would otherwise be deleted.
How WannaCry Works:
WannaCry is a ransomware being sent to the victim’s PC as an infected file via e-mail or URL. Once you open it, the infected code would enter your system. Later, it will lock all the files on your computer with an encryption key. Within few minutes, your files are locked. A message appears on your screen which demands a ransom in a bitcoins to unlock your data. If you don’t pay, your file will be deleted.