[2017-05-30]Tally of losses from WannaCry cyber attack reaches $1 billion

[btc_angela]

Tally of losses from WannaCry cyber attack reaches $1 billion

WASHINGTON — A digital worm powered by stolen National Security Agency (NSA) software caused $1 billion in damages when it infected hundreds of thousands of computers in less than a week, a Florida digital security company says. And new attacks may be in the offing.

Hackers unleashed the worm, dubbed WannaCry, on May 12. Some 200,000 to 300,000 computers were affected in at least 150 countries.

“The estimated damage caused by WannaCry in just the initial four days would exceed $1 billion, looking at the massive downtime caused for large organisations worldwide,” Stu Sjouwerman, chief executive at KnowBe4, a Clearwater, Florida, firm that helps firms avoid phishing efforts, wrote in a statement.

The damage estimates include loss of data, lost productivity, disruptions to business, forensic investigation, reputational harm and other factors, the company said.

The digital contagion encrypted the hard drives of computers. Hackers then demanded payment in the digital currency bitcoin to unfreeze the hard drives.


Source: http://www.jordantimes.com/news/features/tally-losses-wannacry-cyber-attack-reaches-1-billion

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[richardsNY]

It could have been prevented by running proper up to date software. It's mind boggling how companies and government departments still make use of Windows XP and other outdated rubbish software. It all comes down to cutting costs, but the effect of this is that they end up with more costs as they have to buy new software, hire experts in an attempt to recoup data, etc. It's their own fault, and that's exactly why I don't feel sorry for them.

[Qartada]

It could have been prevented by running proper up to date software. It's mind boggling how companies and government departments still make use of Windows XP and other outdated rubbish software. It all comes down to cutting costs, but the effect of this is that they end up with more costs as they have to buy new software, hire experts in an attempt to recoup data, etc. It's their own fault, and that's exactly why I don't feel sorry for them.

I'm pretty sure they released the patch for Windows XP as well, just have a look at the release of the patch. 

I know it seems weird but just look at it from their perspective.  You have thousands of computers and since you're too regulated to screw with Microsoft, you'd have to purchase the license for every single damn computer and basically waste your money.  Sure it was unsafe, but if they just had regular backups and they updated their software regularly, it wouldn't be too bad.

[freedomno1]

It could have been prevented by running proper up to date software. It's mind boggling how companies and government departments still make use of Windows XP and other outdated rubbish software. It all comes down to cutting costs, but the effect of this is that they end up with more costs as they have to buy new software, hire experts in an attempt to recoup data, etc. It's their own fault, and that's exactly why I don't feel sorry for them.

Well according to some data sources the real issue is that no one updates their patches since XP crashed while Windows 7 propagated the virus.
That said 1 Billion well if only the ransom gave the hackers a decent sum more than 100K but it did make it more popular at least or aware of it.

[richardsNY]

It could have been prevented by running proper up to date software. It's mind boggling how companies and government departments still make use of Windows XP and other outdated rubbish software. It all comes down to cutting costs, but the effect of this is that they end up with more costs as they have to buy new software, hire experts in an attempt to recoup data, etc. It's their own fault, and that's exactly why I don't feel sorry for them.

I'm pretty sure they released the patch for Windows XP as well, just have a look at the release of the patch. 

I know it seems weird but just look at it from their perspective.  You have thousands of computers and since you're too regulated to screw with Microsoft, you'd have to purchase the license for every single damn computer and basically waste your money.  Sure it was unsafe, but if they just had regular backups and they updated their software regularly, it wouldn't be too bad.

I know there is a patch out there, but the point of old software like XP is that it doesn't get supported anymore. In extreme cases like WannaCry, things get patched after the damage has been inflicted. In order to avoid this in the future, buying new software is a must. I understand that it's cost intensive, but what else is there to do? Running old software means that even when you're not doing anything wrong, you're still exposing yourself to very high risks.

[panju1]

Hmm... $ 1bn of losses and less than $100k has reached the hacker. Apparently, the companies didn't do a cost benefit analysis before deciding not to pay the hacker.
Security companies will cite this number to do more business with companies.

[CryptoBry]

That WannaCry thing should have sent many people crying to the wall because they have to pay some Bitcoin in order to get back their computer programs back. I am hoping that similar attacks can be prevented since this is actually not the first time it happened...only if our security people can be step ahead of hackers and ranmsomware makers.

[1Referee]

I am hoping that similar attacks can be prevented since this is actually not the first time it happened...

Such attacks can never be prevented, even not with top notch security. However, you can greatly minimize the chances of being a victim of ransomware by making use of up2date software within your entire network structure. High software cost shouldn't be an excuse with plenty of great working open source alternatives.

only if our security people can be step ahead of hackers and ranmsomware makers.

It's always the other way around. What pisses me off big time, is that mostly old security holes are being used to infect systems. How difficult is it for a multi billion company with the best software engineers, to not notice and fix these security holes themselves. Or they did know about them, but they just were not meant to be fixed (hint hint)...

[Kallipso]

I am hoping that similar attacks can be prevented since this is actually not the first time it happened...

Such attacks can never be prevented, even not with top notch security. However, you can greatly minimize the chances of being a victim of ransomware by making use of up2date software within your entire network structure. High software cost shouldn't be an excuse with plenty of great working open source alternatives.

only if our security people can be step ahead of hackers and ranmsomware makers.

It's always the other way around. What pisses me off big time, is that mostly old security holes are being used to infect systems. How difficult is it for a multi billion company with the best software engineers, to not notice and fix these security holes themselves. Or they did know about them, but they just were not meant to be fixed (hint hint)...

The impression is that all users in the world of cryptography have a very big minus And this is the danger that one should expect the network itself. No matter how they talk about the merits of the crypto currency, I've been starting to understand how easy it is for hackers and other cybercriminals. I wonder how you can protect yourself against such losses?

[Baofeng]

It could have been prevented by running proper up to date software. It's mind boggling how companies and government departments still make use of Windows XP and other outdated rubbish software. It all comes down to cutting costs, but the effect of this is that they end up with more costs as they have to buy new software, hire experts in an attempt to recoup data, etc. It's their own fault, and that's exactly why I don't feel sorry for them.

Exactly. That's why they have a IT department to take care of it. I guess, they are cost cutting and didn't think that a regularly update is needed to maintain the health of their system. And now this things happened and it cost them more than saving and it gives them a headache 24 x 7. I know this because I used to work as a Support and Maintenance of a companies assets including pc's and servers.