FBI Issues Ransomware Warning

Amid cyber-attacks that have spread around the globe affecting at least 150 countries, the Federal Bureau of Investigation has issued a FLASH report warning of the effects of a ransomware known as “WannaCry.” The warning – issued in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security – says that “tens of thousands of infections” have been reported including in the U.S., United Kingdom, Spain, Russia, Taiwan, France, and Japan. According to the FBI, hackers are accessing enterprise servers through either Remote Desktop Protocols compromise or by exploiting a critical Windows SMB vulnerability. A patch or security update for the vulnerability was issued by Microsoft almost two months ago. Initial news reports of the attack focused on health services in the United Kingdom but have been reported on computers in hospitals, schools, factories, banks, government agencies, and transportation systems. We will continue to monitor this developing story.