A high-profile “ransomware” attack that affected more than 200,000 worldwide could have been avoided if computer users would stop being “lazy” and update their computers, a local cybersecurity expert said.
Florida Cybersecurity Center director Sri Sridharan says the growth of the digital currency known as bitcoin makes it easier for criminals to hold information for ransom, as they did in the WannaCry attack.
“They don’t get it,” he said. “Either they are lazy or they just ignore the patches being released or overlook it.”
Microsoft released a patch that defended against WannaCry-like attacks in March.
The cyberattack first hit companies and government agencies around the world including the British National Health Service and Russia’s Interior Ministry.
Researchers said the attack originated with the U.S.’s National Security Agency, which created a tool to exploit computer systems in investigations.
That tool was leaked recently by hackers who targeted the NSA. Thousands more infections were reported.
The “WannaCryptor,” or “WannaCry,” virus affected businesses and people in more than 150 countries.
Sridharan says he predicted last year that 2017 would be the year of ransomware attacks. He helped lead a heavily attended conference in Tampa early this year about the topic.
Bitcoin’s growth has made things easier for the bad guys, he said.
“It’s made it a lot easier to collect the money and that’s the ultimate goal here: to make money,” he said.
Sridharan’s advice: apply the patch, get good antivirus software and practice what he calls “good cyber hygiene.”
“Ransomware as a service, it’s a lucrative business,” he said.
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