Ransomware infections reported worldwide, 74 countries, computers locked out

[HAPPY2BME]

Organized and who’s behind it?

Via BBC:

    A massive ransomware campaign appears to have infected a number of organisations around the world.

    Computers in thousands of locations have apparently been locked by a program that demands $300 (£230) in Bitcoin.

    There have been reports of infections in as many as 74 countries, including the UK, US, China, Russia, Spain, Italy and Taiwan.

    Many security researchers are linking the incidents together.

    The UK’s National Health Service (NHS) was also hit by a ransomware outbreak on the same day and screenshots of the WannaCry program were shared by NHS staff.

    One cyber-security researcher tweeted that he had detected many thousands of cases of the ransomware – known as WannaCry and variants of that name – around the world.

    “This is huge,” said Jakub Kroustek at Avast.

http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-39901382

[HAPPY2BME]

Hospitals Across England Go Dark After Massive "Cyber-Attack"; Hackers Demand

Hosptials across the UK have been hit by what appears to be a major, nationwide cyber-attack, resulting in the loss of phonelines and computers, with many hospitals going "dark" and some diverting all but emergency patients elsewhere. At some hospitals patients are being told not to come to A&E with all non-urgent operations cancelled, the BBC reports.

The UK National Health Service said: “We’re aware that a number of trusts that have reported potential issues to the CareCERT team. We believe it to be ransomware.” It added that trusts and hospitals in London, Blackburn, Nottingham, Cumbria and Hertfordshire have been affected and are reporting IT failures, in some cases meaning there is no way of operating phones or computers.

At Lister Hospital in Stevenage, the telephone and computer system has been fully disabled in an attempt to fend off the attack.

Services affected are thought to include picture archiving communication systems for x-ray images, pathology test results, phone and bleep systems and patient administration systems. The source added: “This will mean delays and a focus on the sickest patients. I’ve seen it once before and we relied on local trusts supporting each other. If truly widespread then that’ll not be an option.”

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-05-12/hospitals-across-england-go-dark-after-massive-cyber-attack-hackers-demand-ransom