WannaCry Ransomware Helps Drivers Dodge Speeding Tickets

WannaCry Ransomware Helps Drivers Dodge Speeding Tickets

WannaCry Ransomware Helps Drivers Dodge Speeding Tickets

Fifty-five speed and red-light cameras in the Australia's state of Victoria were infected with the WannaCry ransomware.

The ransomware has managed to work its way into 55 cameras including red light cameras created to capture images of drivers jumping red lights at highway intersections, and speed monitoring cameras. Police say a maintenance worker inadvertently uploaded the malware using a USB stick on June 6.

Victoria's Acting Deputy Commissioner Ross Guenther told reporters on Friday that about 590 fines issued from the speed and red-light cameras found to be infected with WannaCry have been cancelled.

A system patch to prevent the virus from spreading further has been applied to the network of cameras.


"The department is in the process of removing the virus from the affected cameras".

The ransomware, which asks for $300 in Bitcoin to be shut down, was noticed by police when they saw the cameras were rebooting often.

The report - billed as "exclusive" - said the WannaCry virus had hit private camera operator RedFlex, which operates most traffic cameras in Victoria.

Mr Guenther said the "infected" were still operating though it was not issuing any fines for the moment. "The remaining sites will be rectified in the next couple of days".

He understood the virus tried to connect to the internet to encrypt the system - but the cameras are not linked to the web.

The WannaCry ransomware that affected more than 300,000 computers in over 150 countries may be mostly behind us, but there are some locations where infected systems are still being discovered.

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