[2017-05-15] Security Experts and Microsoft Question the NSA’s Overreach

[TwoTimes]

On Friday, May 12 the Wanacryptor 2.0 (Wannacry) ransomware began spreading like wildfire across thousands of computers across the world. Over the past two days Wannacry has claimed over 223,000 victims using Windows operating systems through an alleged U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) exploit called an SMB worm.

According to various reports from security groups and tech publications, the Wannacry malware has spread to over 223,000 infections globally. It is purported that the ransomware uses a protocol called an SMB worm which is claimed to be a modified version of the NSA’s “Eternal Blue” exploit leaked by the Shadow Brokers. This weekend Microsoft has released another set of patches to fix XP and Windows 8 operating systems as it had previously published a patch for other versions this past March.

Read More Here >>> https://news.bitcoin.com/security-experts-microsoft-question-nsas-overreach/

[Kprawn]

How do you like this theory..... The price of a highly disruptive technology called Bitcoin reach record high levels and something was needed to

slow it down. OK, How will someone who wants to slow it down, do it? Well create some crisis.... like we have seen with the hack of MtGox. Boom!!

enters.... Massive Malware attack using Bitcoin as a payment option.  

Anyone else see the pattern here?

[Coin-Keeper]

Kprawn,

I don't think your theory holds true, but of course I don't know the "mind" behind it.  My take is it is simply pure GREED.  Its easy to get companies to pay for access to their own data.  Also, strangely, there is a faction of hackers that like to do stuff like this just because they can.  Sort of like a personal challenge and to derive some satisfaction from the accomplishment.  They had better have a network engineer behind how they will ultimately move those coins because the "powers that be" will be full scale tracking through the blockchain.  I have worked through these schemes and trust me gaining the BTC is the easy part.  Translating those BTC into fiat without getting prosecuted is where a Pro is needed.