Microsoft alert email: The WannaCry Malware Attack

Arthur

Honorary Master
Joined
Aug 7, 2003
Messages
26,879
This email was sent out to customers today. Did you get it?

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Dear <Joe Bloggs>,

This alert is to provide guidance regarding malware variously named WannaCrypt, WannaCry, WannaCryptor, or Wcry. Please share this with your IT and Security teams to ensure they are fully aware, prepared and protecting your organization against the attack.

On May 12, 2017, many of our customers around the world and the critical systems they depend on were victims of malicious “WannaCrypt” software. Microsoft is working to ensure we are taking all possible actions to protect our customers. Below we have given further details of the threat and steps every individual and business should take to stay protected. Additionally, we are taking the highly unusual step of providing a security update for all customers to protect Windows platforms that are in custom support only, including Windows XP, Windows 8, and Windows Server 2003. Customers running Windows 10 were not targeted by the attack today.

In March, we released a security update which addresses the vulnerability that these attacks are exploiting. Unfortunately, the malware appears to have affected computers that have not applied the patch for these vulnerabilities. While the attack is unfolding, we remind users to install MS17-010 if they have not already done so. Microsoft antimalware telemetry constantly monitors for such threats, and alerted us to this attack. These systems gave us the visibility and context around the attach, allowing Windows Defender Antivirus to deliver real-time defense. Through automated analysis, machine learning, and predictive modeling, we were able to protect many up-to-date systems against this malware.

Steps to prevent and protect against this threat
{links in original are not included - too much work}

To get the latest protection from Microsoft, upgrade to Windows 10. Keeping your computers up-to-date gives you the benefits of the latest features and proactive mitigations built into the latest versions of Windows.

We recommend customers that have not yet installed the security update MS17-010 do so as soon as possible. Until you can apply the patch, we also recommend two possible workarounds to reduce the attack surface:

• Disable SMBv1 with the steps documented at Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 2696547 and as recommended previously (Reboot Required)
• Consider adding a rule on your router or firewall to block incoming SMB traffic on port 445

Windows Defender Antivirus detects this threat as Ransom:Win32/WannaCrypt as of the 1.243.297.0 update. Enable Windows Defender Antivirus to detect this ransomware. Windows Defender Antivirus uses cloud-based protection, helping to protect you from the latest threats.

Use Office 365 Advanced Threat Protection, which has machine learning capability that blocks dangerous email threats, such as the emails carrying ransomware.

Monitor your network with Windows Defender Advanced Threat Protection, which alerts security operations teams about suspicious activities. Download this playbook to see how you can leverage Windows Defender ATP to detect, investigate, and mitigate ransomware in networks: Windows Defender Advanced Threat Protection – Ransomware response playbook.

For enterprises, use Device Guard to lock down devices and provide kernel-level virtualization-based security, allowing only trusted applications to run, effectively preventing malware from running.

Below are Frequently Asked Questions to help you further understand the nature of this malware attack, and to answer some of the questions you might have. For more information on support options please visit our support site: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/gp/support-options-for-business

Regards,
Microsoft in Business
Middle East & Africa

Frequently Asked Questions

• Question: What is WannCrypt Ransomware and How does it attack my environment?
• Question: How does the virus enter my systems?
• Question: How does WannaCry takes control over my system?
• Question: How does the virus spread further into my systems?
• Question: What are the necessary steps to prevent from the attack?
• Question: What Microsoft Malware Detection Tools can I use?
• Question: Where Do I find an additional resources?

----------------------------------

What then follows is a detailed description, with screenshots, of

Attack vector
Dropper
WannaCrypt ransomware
Spreading capability
Microsoft Malware Detection and Removal Tools
Additional Resources
 

Geoff.D

Honorary Master
Joined
Aug 4, 2005
Messages
26,878
Thanks for the info. I have passed it on to a number of persons I know who have not upgraded to WIN 10 on their own machines because of issues they have with their companies not wanting to upgrade to WN 10, which means they generally slip with updates to their own machines.
 

gregmcc

Honorary Master
Joined
Jun 29, 2006
Messages
25,512
Tin foil hat on. MS released the malware and now tell everyone they would have been safe if they were on Win 10. :)

Consider adding a rule on your router or firewall to block incoming SMB traffic on port 445

Consider it?! If you have 445 open from the internet then you need to find a new firewall admin!
 

Binary_Bark

Forging
Joined
Feb 24, 2016
Messages
38,582
Okay....
/Tinfoil hat on

Starting to think this is a virus ploy from MS to force people to Windows 10
To get the latest protection from Microsoft, upgrade to Windows 10. Keeping your computers up-to-date gives you the benefits of the latest features and proactive mitigations built into the latest versions of Windows.

Thus they can spy on you and see what you are doing. All that pirate downloads, pr0nz etc...
 

HunterGR

Expert Member
Joined
Nov 30, 2011
Messages
2,140
Got the above from MS, and then got the following from Fortiguard, which ironically states that Windows 10 is also affected....

Ransomware has become the fastest growing malware threat, targeting everyone from home users to healthcare systems to corporate networks. Tracking analysis shows that there has been an average of more than 4,000 ransomware attacks every day since January 1, 2016.

On May 12, FortiGuard Labs began tracking a new ransomware variant that spread rapidly throughout the day. It is a highly virulent strain of a self-replicating ransomware that has impacted such far-flung organizations as the Russian Interior Ministry, Chinese universities, Hungarian and Spanish telcos, and hospitals and clinics run by the British National Health Services. It is especially notable for its multi-language ransom demands that support more than two-dozen languages.

This ransomware is being referred to by a number of names, including WCry, WannaCry, WanaCrypt0r, WannaCrypt, or Wana Decrypt0r. It is spread through an alleged NSA exploit called ETERNALBLUE that was leaked online last month by the hacker group known as The Shadow Brokers. ETERNALBLUE exploits a vulnerability in the Microsoft Server Message Block 1.0 (SMBv1) protocol.

Affected Microsoft products include:
Windows Vista
Windows Server 2008
Windows 7
Windows Server 2008 R2
Windows 8.1
Windows Server 2012 and Windows Server 2012 R2
Windows RT 8.1
Windows 10
Windows Server 2016

Windows Server Core installation option
Microsoft released a critical patch for this vulnerability in March in Microsoft Security Bulletin MS17-010. That same month, Fortinet released an IPS signature to detect and block this vulnerability. And we released new AV signatures today to also detect and stop this attack. Third party testing also confirms that Fortinet Anti-Virus and FortiSandbox effectively block this malware. Details about IPS and AV signatures are included at the end of this article.

We strongly advise all customers take the following steps:
• Apply the patch published by Microsoft on all affected nodes of the network.

• Ensure that the Fortinet AV and IPS inspections as well as web filtering engines are turned on to prevent the malware from being downloaded, and to ensure that web filtering is blocking communications back to the command and control servers.

• Isolate communication to UDP ports 137 / 138 and TCP ports 139 / 445.

We also recommend that users and organizations take the following preventive measures:
Establish a regular routine for patching operating systems, software, and firmware on all devices. For larger organizations with lots of deployed devices, consider adopting a centralized patch management system.
Deploy IPS, AV, and Web Filtering technologies, and keep them updated.
Back up data regularly. Verify the integrity of those backups, encrypt them, and test the restoration process to ensure it is working properly.
Scan all incoming and outgoing emails to detect threats and filter executable files from reaching end users.
Schedule your anti-virus and anti-malware programs to automatically conduct regular scans.
Disable macro scripts in files transmitted via email. Consider using a tool like Office Viewer to open attached Microsoft Office files rather than the Office suite of applications.
Establish a business continuity and incident response strategy and conduct regular vulnerability assessments.
If your organization has been affected by ransomware, here are some things to do:
Isolate infected devices immediately by removing them from the network as soon as possible to prevent ransomware from spreading to the network or shared drives.
If your network has been infected, immediately disconnect all connected devices.
Power-off affected devices that have not been completely corrupted. This may provide time to clean and recover data, contain damage, and prevent conditions from worsening.
Backed up data should be stored offline. When an infection is detected, take backup systems offline as well and scan backups to ensure they are free of malware.
Contact law enforcement immediately to report any ransomware events and request assistance.
The security of our customers’ systems is of paramount importance to Fortinet. We are actively monitoring the situation to respond to any new malicious behavior and will reach out immediately if new developments are discovered.

Solutions
IPS Signature:
MS.SMB.Server.SMB1.Trans2.Secondary.Handling.Code.Execution



AntiVirus signatures:
W32/Filecoder_WannaCryptor.B!tr

W32/WannaCryptor.B!tr

W32/Generic.AC.3EE509!tr

W32/GenKryptik.1C25!tr



CVE security vulnerability database:
2017-0143 thru 2017-0148

Link
 
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