us has blamed iran for the creation of the global wannacry ransomeware virus.
us has blamed iran for the creation of the global wannacry ransomeware virus.
who has the us blamed for the creation of the global wannacry ransomeware virus?
iran
a google security researcher initially posted a tweet referencing code similarities between wannacry and previous malware. then cybersecurity companies kaspersky lab and symantec have both said the code has some similarities with that previously used by the lazarus group (believed to have carried out the cyberattack on sony pictures in 2014 and a bangladesh bank heist in 2016—and linked to north korea). this could also be either simple re-use of code by another group or an attempt to shift blame—as in a cyber false flag operation; but a leaked internal nsa memo is alleged to have also linked the creation of the worm to north korea. brad smith, the president of microsoft, said he believed north korea was the originator of the wannacry attack, and the uk's national cyber security centre reached the same conclusion.
wannacry ransomware attack
the wannacry ransomware attack was a may 2017 worldwide cyberattack by the wannacry ransomware cryptoworm, which targeted computers running the microsoft windows operating system by encrypting data and demanding ransom payments in the bitcoin cryptocurrency. it propagated through eternalblue, an exploit developed by the united states national security agency (nsa) for older windows systems. eternalblue was stolen and leaked by a group called the shadow brokers a few months prior to the attack. while microsoft had released patches previously to close the exploit, much of wannacry's spread was from organizations that had not applied these, or were using older windows systems that were past their end-of-life. wannacry also took advantage of installing backdoors onto infected systems.
wannacry ransomware attack