“Next Global Cyber Attack likely on Monday” says ‘Accidental Hero’ who halted the attack

“We have stopped this one, but there will be another one coming and it will not be stoppable by us,” the 22-year-old told the BBC on Sunday.

 

LONDON:  Global cyber attack which hit 125,000 computer systems on Friday is expected to hit again on Monday, a security researcher warned on Sunday.
“Another one coming… quite likely on Monday” predicted The UK security researcher “MalwareTech”, who helped to limit the ransom ware attack, the BBC reported.

The virus, which took control of users’ files, spread to 100 countries, including Spain, France and Russia. In England, 48 National Health Service (NHS) trusts fell victim, as did 13 NHS bodies in Scotland.

Some hospitals were forced to cancel procedures and appointments, as ambulances were directed to neighboring hospitals free from the computer virus.

After taking computers over, the virus displayed messages demanding a payment of $300 in virtual currency Bitcoin to unlock files and return them to the user. The virus exploited a vulnerability in Microsoft Windows software, first identified by the US National Security Agency.

MalwareTech, who wants to remain anonymous, was hailed as an “accidental hero” after registering a domain name to track the spread of the virus, which actually ended up halting it.

“We have stopped this one, but there will be another one coming and it will not be stoppable by us,” the 22-year-old told the BBC on Sunday.
“So there’s a good chance they are going to do it… maybe not this weekend, but quite likely on Monday morning.”
He also warned hackers could upgrade the virus to remove the “kill switch” that helped to stop it.

“Version 1 of WannaCrypt was stoppable but version 2.0 will likely remove the flaw. You’re only safe if you patch as soon as possible,” he tweeted.

Investigators are working to track down those responsible for the ransomware used on Friday, known as Wanna Decryptor or WannaCry.