Microsoft says WannaCrypt attack a wake-up call
Microsoft said the governments of the world should treat the recent WannaCrypt attack as a wake-up call.
The WannaCrypt ransomware has spread globally, blocking victims from accessing their PC’s data unless they pay a ransom.
Exploits used in the attack were drawn from exploits stolen from the NSA.
On 14 March, Microsoft released a security update to patch this vulnerability and protect its customers.
While this protected newer Windows systems and those with updates on, many computers remained unpatched.
As a result, hospitals, businesses, and governments were affected.
Microsoft said there are important lessons to be learned from the WannaCrypt attack, and has stated the following:
- Microsoft must address these issues. This included the release of the patch in March and an update on Friday to Windows Defender to detect the WannaCrypt attack.
- The attack demonstrates how cybersecurity has become a shared responsibility between tech companies and customers.
- This attack provides an example of why the stockpiling of vulnerabilities by governments is such a problem.
“The governments of the world should treat this attack as a wake-up call,” said Microsoft.
“They need to take a different approach and adhere in cyberspace to the same rules applied to weapons in the physical world.”
“We need the tech sector, customers, and governments to work together to protect against cybersecurity attacks.”
Now read: WannaCry ransomware – The details
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