Global Ransomware attack happening today

Submitted by gjohnsit on Fri, 05/12/2017 - 12:57pm

Ransomware has been a global plague for years, but today it hit a new peak.

There have been reports of infections in the UK, US, China, Russia, Spain, Italy, Vietnam, Taiwan and others.
Security researchers are linking the incidents together.
One cyber-security researcher tweeted that he had detected 36,000 instances of the ransomware, called WannaCry and variants of that name.

"This is huge," he said.

Another, at cyber-security firm Kaspersky, said that the ransomware had been spotted cropping up in 74 countries and that the number was still growing.

What is unusual about this outbreak is the victims. We aren't talking about grandpa and grandma here, but major institutions.

The UK's National Health Service (NHS) was also hit by a ransomware outbreak on the same day and screenshots of the WannaCry program were shared by NHS staff.
Telecoms giant Telefonica said in a statement that it was aware of a "cybersecurity incident" but that clients and services had not been affected.
Power firm Iberdrola and utility provider Gas Natural were also reported to have suffered from the outbreak.
...
Another firm that confirmed it had been caught out was delivery company FedEx.
"Like many other companies, FedEx is experiencing interference with some of our Windows-based systems caused by malware," it said in a statement.
Bitcoin wallets seemingly associated with the ransomware were reported to have already started filling up with cash.
"This is a major cyber attack, impacting organisations across Europe at a scale I've never seen before," said security architect Kevin Beaumont.

So why is this ransomware so successful?
Funny you should mention that. Remember the recent Wikileaks release of NSA exploit tools?
Yeh, that one.

Several experts monitoring the situation have linked the infections to vulnerabilities released by a group known as The Shadow Brokers, which recently claimed to have dumped hacking tools stolen from the NSA.
A patch for the vulnerability was released by Microsoft in March, but many systems may not have had the update installed.
Some security researchers have pointed out that the infections seem to be deployed via a worm - a program that spreads by itself between computers.

FYI, worms don't require you to click on a web site and open an email.
At least 100 firms in Spain are under attack.
If you are using Windows, you need to make certain that you run Windows Update today!
Don't delay!

NHS hack: So NSA had secret backdoor into Windows. Details leaked few weeks ago. Now backdoor being exploited by random criminals. Nightmare

— Sam Coates Times (@SamCoatesTimes) May 12, 2017

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Submitted by gjohnsit on Fri, 05/12/2017 - 1:11pm

Cybercrime has gone mainstream

It's banal

The developer of an easy-to-use form of customisable ransomware has massively expanded their activities, expanding their arsenal of cybercriminal tools and making it even easier for would-be cyber crooks to set up operations.
First spotted in September last year, Philadelphia ransomware is simple to deploy and at $400, is a relatively low-cost investment for entry-level cybercriminals, who also get support and updates as part of a 'ransomware-as-a-service' package which provides them with the opportunity to become part of a billion-dollar industry.

And it's everywhere

According to Joseph Noonan, vice-president of product marketing at Unitrends, a Burlington, Mass.-based business continuity and disaster recovery company, up to 60 per cent of businesses in North America were attacked by ransomware last year. Of those that were hit, 63 per cent of them were down for more than one day, with the cost of downtime across the continent adding up to $700-billion (U.S.).
The threat of ransomware and other types of malware isn’t likely to diminish any time soon, either. Mr. Noonan says that those kinds of threats are expected to double every year until 2019.

“Ransomware is a billion-dollar industry at this point and they [criminals] launch 4,000 new attacks every single day,” he says. “It’s tough for a security vendor to stay in front of that.”
A 2016 International Business Machines Corp. survey found that seven out of 10 executives at attacked U.S. companies ended up paying the ransom to get their data or files returned. Half of the paying companies turned over at least $10,000, and 20 per cent paid more than $40,000.

Bitcoin OTOH is loving it

With a 94 percent year-to-date gain, and a single "coin" now worth $1,843, bitcoin has been on a helluva run lately.

Submitted by gjohnsit on Fri, 05/12/2017 - 1:22pm

In an ironic twist

@gjohnsit GCHQ posted this just today.

GCHQ is the British NSA.

Submitted by The Aspie Corner on Fri, 05/12/2017 - 1:34pm

Bitcoin can eat a bag of dicks.

@gjohnsit

—

Modern education is little more than toeing the line for the capitalist pigs.

Guerrilla Liberalism won't liberate the US or the world from the iron fist of capital.

Submitted by SnappleBC on Fri, 05/12/2017 - 2:47pm

Out of curiosity, what's your beef against bitcoin?

@The Aspie Corner

I see it as a pretty effective attack against global capital.

—

A lot of wanderers in the U.S. political desert recognize that all the duopoly has to offer is a choice of mirages. Come, let us trudge towards empty expanse of sand #1, littered with the bleached bones of Deaniacs and Hope and Changers.
-- lotlizard

Submitted by Cant Stop the M... on Sat, 05/13/2017 - 8:02am

@SnappleBC My problem w/it is it

@SnappleBC My problem w/it is it creates another aristocracy of digitally-skilled folks. Not a bad experiment, I guess, but we need one a whole lot better.

—

"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha

"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver

Submitted by Cant Stop the M... on Sat, 05/13/2017 - 8:01am

@The Aspie Corner So can GCHQ.

@The Aspie Corner So can GCHQ.
"Keeping Britain safe," FFS.

—

"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha

"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver

Submitted by boriscleto on Fri, 05/12/2017 - 1:15pm

Windows

Lol.

—

" In the beginning, the universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry, and is generally considered to have been a bad move. -- Douglas Adams, The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy "

Submitted by lotlizard on Sat, 05/13/2017 - 3:58am

“Brand-name” PCs that run Windows — LOL again.

@boriscleto
HP laptops covertly log every keystroke, researchers warn

Submitted by detroitmechworks on Fri, 05/12/2017 - 1:25pm

And of course the cynic in me...

Is convinced that Microsoft is kicking itself for not doing this earlier.

And who's to say... they aren't.

I mean, supposedly NOBODY knows who is doing this, and it's worth billions...

Yes, I do have that low of an opinion of major companies. Especially since their "Updates" have a nasty habit of installing their spyware anyway, and it's a very short step.

—

I do not pretend I know what I do not know.

Submitted by CB on Fri, 05/12/2017 - 2:47pm

And everyone thought they were getting Windows 10 for free

@detroitmechworks
/S ????

Submitted by eyo on Fri, 05/12/2017 - 1:30pm

Why Ds think they're under attack from Russia

My address is being heavily phished right now, scads of junk from spammers and such. Then, among all that comes a notice what looks like a real credit card security warning, in html of course so I can't see the hidden web bug embedded in the message. From an address that ends in .ru, I used dig and whois to trace, it is owned by this corporation:

ISP: OJSC RTComm.RU
Organization: Avguro Technologies Ltd. Hosting service provider
Connection Type: Cable/DSL
Country: Russia
City: Unknown

Note it is a Cable/DSL connection, and the mailer? Of course it is:

X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 6.00.2600.0000

Garbage in, garbage out. Anyone ever do Exchange support? Remember when Outlook used to silently copy a personal.pst to whatever location a user happened to log in from? In the background, no matter how big or protected it was? That is why Huma's mail on Weiner's PC didn't surprise me at all, despite the printing excuse. I wonder if MS ever changed that stupid default. It seems to me that Podesta was fooled by some script kiddie on the Internets, state-sponsored or not. Windows should not be deployed anywhere anymore, until Microsoft cleans up their shitty security by obscurity crap. That would MAGA.

Almost every single piece of garbage that comes over the wire now is from a Windows machine, and Bill Gates is the richest asshole on the planet. Free market for the win.

Thanks

Submitted by detroitmechworks on Fri, 05/12/2017 - 1:36pm

Their products haven't gotten any better...

@eyo in almost 10 years.

The newest version of Windows I will use is Windows 7, and that's with IE turned off, most of the "Helpful" features disabled, and Steam about the only resident program on there.

—

I do not pretend I know what I do not know.

Submitted by eyo on Fri, 05/12/2017 - 2:13pm

Ten years? Keep going.

@detroitmechworks well I was feeling old today anyway, what the hell I was a Microsoft Certified Professional in 2000, rode that Y2k bubble like a bucking bronc I did. My status has since expired, along with the dotcoms. I still think NT was the apex of Microsoft Operating Systems but not 4.0, never buy any v4.0 from MS is what we learned over time. Quality. Is why "the cloud" has no versions.

Windows 95 is a 32 bit extension for a 16 bit patch to an 8 bit operating system originally coded for a 4 bit microprocessor by a 2 bit company that can't stand 1 bit of competition.

Still going strong. LOL http://www.workjoke.com/programmers-jokes.html

Peace

Submitted by gjohnsit on Fri, 05/12/2017 - 1:39pm

Who's the real danger?

@eyo This came out just yesterday.

The government sector has joined the financial services industry as a major target of cyber attackers, according to new research released by Dimension Data.
The research shows that the number of cyberattacks on governments doubled from 7% of the total in 2015 to 14% in 2016.

Attacks on the finance sector also rose dramatically, from just 3% in 2015 to 14% of all attacks in 2016, according to the report.

The manufacturing sector came in at third place at 13%, while the retail sector, which topped the list of all cybersecurity attacks on all sectors in 2015, moved down into fourth place at 11%.
...
About 63% of all cyberattacks originated from Internet addresses in the US, followed by the UK (4%) and China (3%).

But worry about Russia.

Submitted by Dark UltraValia on Fri, 05/12/2017 - 2:55pm

LMAO!!!!

@gjohnsit

—

Yaldabaoth, Saklas I'm calling you. Samael. You're not alone. I said, you're not alone, in your darkness. You're not alone, baby. You're not alone. "Original Sinsuality" Tori Amos

Submitted by CB on Fri, 05/12/2017 - 3:55pm

Russian hackers are using the CIA's "Marble"

@Dark UltraValia
to play a forensic attribution double game. Most of the apparent hacking from the US is actually coming from the basement of the Kremlin.

Submitted by Cant Stop the M... on Sat, 05/13/2017 - 8:11am

@CB Uh...really? Or

@CB Uh...really? Or snark?

It's gotten hard to tell anymore. We live in weird times.

—

"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha

"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver

Submitted by eyo on Sat, 05/13/2017 - 8:36am

Really? Really

@Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal yeah why not CIA using Marble to spoof attacks, digital Gulf of Tonkin if you know what I mean. Whoa, I just searched for a reference and ended up on the source code page of Wikileaks SECRET in red all over the place. Not what I was looking for, but wow. look away

Here is what I was trying to find, a brief 'splainin', it is also from Wikileaks, but not a page splattered SECRET: https://wikileaks.org/vault7/

Marble is used to hamper forensic investigators and anti-virus companies from attributing viruses, trojans and hacking attacks to the CIA.

I noted March 31st is the date on Wikileaks Vault7 page, MS had already released their patches on the 14th, two weeks earlier.
https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/security/ms17-010.aspx

Thanks

Submitted by Cant Stop the M... on Sat, 05/13/2017 - 8:58am

@eyo Oh yeah, I know

@eyo Oh yeah, I know about that. Didn't surprise me any. But I am surprised at the assertion that all the apparently US-based hacking is coming from the basement of the Kremlin, and I couldn't actually tell if that was snark or not, because, well, weird times.

—

"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha

"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver

Submitted by Cant Stop the M... on Sat, 05/13/2017 - 8:59am

@eyo I'm going to

@eyo I'm going to assume it was snark.

—

"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha

"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver

Submitted by eyo on Sat, 05/13/2017 - 10:17am

"consider it snark" me too. And weird times?

@Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal thanks, weird times indeed. I can hardly function at all anymore with the collapsing web of trust, in need of repair here.

Within my proximity things seem to be changing rapidly not for the better, yet the news media prattles on as if everything is fine, like:
Chamber of Commerce: Come to Cloverdale and wine taste!
Next week: Cloverdale Welcome Sign destroyed by drunk driver!

Duh, and the cannabis rules, oh boy can't wait to read the entertaining police and fire logs. Dog, cat, pasta help us, may all stay out of jail and nobody get shot, that's all I can say right now.

Clovertucky out

Submitted by CB on Sat, 05/13/2017 - 9:52am

Hehhehehe... here's the key to discover the truth

@Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal

Special Key

Of course the 'Special Key' must be applied by someone having a modicum of intelligence and background knowledge.

Submitted by Cant Stop the M... on Sat, 05/13/2017 - 10:09am

@CB It can only be

@CB It can only be applied by someone who's capable of using their reason.

—

"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha

"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver

Submitted by Ellen North on Sun, 05/14/2017 - 10:45pm

@CB

@CB

Lol, and I'll bet that Kremlin basement is just loaded with Bernie Bros throwing chairs for exersize whenever not hacking manipulative liars and cheats.

—

Psychopathy is not a political position, whether labeled 'conservatism', 'centrism' or 'left'.

A tin labeled 'coffee' may be a can of worms or pathology identified by a lack of empathy/willingness to harm others to achieve personal desires.

Submitted by thanatokephaloides on Fri, 05/12/2017 - 2:31pm

GIGO

@eyo @eyo

Garbage in, garbage out. Anyone ever do Exchange support? Remember when Outlook used to silently copy a personal.pst to whatever location a user happened to log in from? In the background, no matter how big or protected it was?

Yeppers. Been there, done that.

That is why Huma's mail on Weiner's PC didn't surprise me at all, despite the printing excuse. I wonder if MS ever changed that stupid default. It seems to me that Podesta was fooled by some script kiddie on the Internets, state-sponsored or not.

Sounds reasonable to me.

Windows should not be deployed anywhere anymore,

Ever.

I realize I'm probably guilty of some gloating here. But I just can't get over the fact that Linux and BSD, two operating systems one can easily acquire for free, start out with far better inherent security than Windows accomplishes with constant patching; and when patches are needed, they're still easily available too.

until Microsoft cleans up their shitty security by obscurity crap. That would MAGA.

Which Microsoft will never do. They're married to that "shitty security by obscurity crap". And, as we can plainly see, it doesn't work as well as the open source "security by no place to hide" methods do.

Linux and BSD, my friends. They're the way to go.......

edited to correct blockquote

—

"US govt/military = bad. Russian govt/military = bad. Any politician wanting power = bad. Anyone wielding power = bad." --Shahryar

"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides

Submitted by gjohnsit on Fri, 05/12/2017 - 2:00pm

Windows isn't going away anytime soon

@thanatokephaloides
Not because of it's quality/security/etc., but because of its successful business model.

You can always find tech support and people familiar with it, and you can always find an well-known application to do what you need to do.
And a sensible, measurable financial plan to do it all.

None of that, of course, applies to the home user.

Submitted by thanatokephaloides on Fri, 05/12/2017 - 2:27pm

business model

@gjohnsit

You can always find tech support and people familiar with it, and you can always find an well-known application to do what you need to do.

All of which is now true of Linux as well (adoption of this model is where Ubuntu came from). And if Microsoft doesn't find a better way to get and keep its OS secure from trash like the stuff gjohnsit described in today's Essay, the world will continue migrating to the POSIX systems.

None of that, of course, applies to the home user.

On the other hand, with Linux (especially) and BSD, all of it applies to the home user. Support information is available on the Web, easily accessed and for free. Applications to do almost any imaginable task are available -- again, for free. And the OS is inherently more secure from the kind of invasions our Essayist describes, simply because the security model used by open source operating systems (no where to hide) works better than "security by obscurity" does.

Microsoft is facing some problems with this issue. The question is and remains: What will they do about it?

—

"US govt/military = bad. Russian govt/military = bad. Any politician wanting power = bad. Anyone wielding power = bad." --Shahryar

"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides

Submitted by enhydra lutris on Fri, 05/12/2017 - 2:22pm

Hello there from the world of Ubuntu 16.04 LTS.

@thanatokephaloides

I can't recall how long ago I last ran windows, and then only because I had to be compatible with my employer, and Win xx.yyy broke the compatibility with the far superior WARP os from big blue ugly.

—

That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

Submitted by thanatokephaloides on Fri, 05/12/2017 - 2:41pm

I'm running UbuntuStudio.

@enhydra lutris

Hello there from the world of Ubuntu 16.04 LTS.

I'm running UbuntuStudio 16.10/17.04. Basically, a Yakkety userworld on a Zesty Zapus kernel. That's because my laptop has an Intel Atom Bay Trail "system on a chip" heart, so I run a Linuxium kernel. As Ian "Linuxium" Morrison points out, pretty soon his Atom support will be merged into standard kernel, so I won't need to do that any more.

And again, free and secure -- straight out of the box.

—

"US govt/military = bad. Russian govt/military = bad. Any politician wanting power = bad. Anyone wielding power = bad." --Shahryar

"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides

Submitted by eyo on Fri, 05/12/2017 - 3:22pm

"And again, free and secure" Except for the firmware parts

@thanatokephaloides let's not get too carried away about software freedom on Linux and BSD, until vendors release all the code, or at least the documentation.

Microsoft is now a Platinum Member of the Linux Foundation. That kind of embrace is what I'm used to, waiting for the "extend" next, it is happening every day in fact, and then the "extinguish" part starts kicking.

BSD is not GPL licensed, be careful what freedoms you ask for, that's all I have to say.

Thanks

Submitted by thanatokephaloides on Fri, 05/12/2017 - 6:06pm

software blues

@eyo @eyo

let's not get too carried away about software freedom on Linux and BSD, until vendors release all the code, or at least the documentation.

I don't think I'm using any closed-source code on this laptop, with the exception of the Flash Shockwave player. And my need for that, thank Cat, is going away courtesy of HTML5. Everything else I do, I can do with applications I can compile entirely from freely available source code if I'm so inclined. Same goes for the OS itself.

I do realize that certain individuals' mileage may vary, however.

EDIT: Re-reading the subject/title of the message I'm replying to: Firmware is a PITA with any operating system. Hardware vendors tend to keep that stuff close to the vest. It's a major reason that hardware that ran Windows Vista fine can't run Windows 10 at all (for just one example).

I'd settle for the base firmware itself, and guidance for its use in drivers, being available publically and for free. And I face that particular problem on one thing I own which starts out running Linux -- my ZTE Maven Android smartphone. So I do know of what you speak!

—

"US govt/military = bad. Russian govt/military = bad. Any politician wanting power = bad. Anyone wielding power = bad." --Shahryar

"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides

Submitted by eyo on Fri, 05/12/2017 - 6:21pm

No wireless chipset? Network card? Video?

@thanatokephaloides Atheros is the only free networking code in Linux, as far as I know, the others have all been reverse engineered, or rewritten from scratch with whatever sparsely documented specifications the vendor makes available. Linux downloads a proprietary firmware helper "blob", a non-free binary, to work with non-free hardware companies (nearly all). What about the video card? Remember this?

LOL, they were more responsive after that, but still closed, non-free forever. Google with Android is the biggest free leech I have ever seen, maybe Facebook ties them for take take taking so much code, making billions, and paying only a few programmers compared to the lobbyists and politicians now on their payroll.

Wireless firmware will never be free I think, because Jo Blosephine will then turn up their radio power full blast, why not? I've done it with a directional antenna and OpenWRT on a Linux router before, it was easy, and necessary for that location.

The problem is with politicians who are too uneducated to realize if all the code was free, or at least in escrow for professional public review, then shit would get fixed so fast by the interested and clueful public, they wouldn't believe it. Plus, they wouldn't be in control anymore, can't have that now can we?

Peace

Submitted by thanatokephaloides on Fri, 05/12/2017 - 8:19pm

firmware (some more)

@eyo

No wireless chipset? Network card? Video?

@thanatokephaloides Atheros is the only free networking code in Linux, as far as I know, the others have all been reverse engineered, or rewritten from scratch with whatever sparsely documented specifications the vendor makes available. Linux downloads a proprietary firmware helper "blob", a non-free binary, to work with non-free hardware companies (nearly all). What about the video card? Remember this?

My wireless card is, indeed, an Atheros. And with the Intel Atom series of processors (I have a Bay Trail series Atom) most of the rest of the functions you mention are handled by the processor complex IC. Although it's been like pulling teeth, Intel's been getting better at providing code, drivers and materials to support the Atoms on Linux. I believe I've mentioned Ian "Linuxium" Morrison above as one of the private coders working on support for these systems.

And I've sweated those fucking Nvidia video cards in my day, so I know of what you speak there. As I said, firmware is a pain in the ass no matter what OS you run. And it's a pain in the ass for the exact reason you specified:

The problem is with politicians who are too uneducated to realize if all the code was free, or at least in escrow for professional public review, then shit would get fixed so fast by the interested and clueful public, they wouldn't believe it. Plus, they wouldn't be in control anymore, can't have that now can we?

Add to that just basic, good old fashioned greed (why let someone keep using their old $100 video card when we can sell them a $1000 video card instead?). Again, that's Nvidia to a "T" regardless of what OS we're talking about here.

And Peace be with and upon you as well!

—

"US govt/military = bad. Russian govt/military = bad. Any politician wanting power = bad. Anyone wielding power = bad." --Shahryar

"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides

Submitted by thanatokephaloides on Fri, 05/12/2017 - 1:37pm

change your operating system today

If you are using Windows, you need to make certain that you

.... change your operating system to Linux or BSD today!

Don't delay!

—

"US govt/military = bad. Russian govt/military = bad. Any politician wanting power = bad. Anyone wielding power = bad." --Shahryar

"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides

Submitted by SnappleBC on Fri, 05/12/2017 - 3:33pm

Sadly easy to say...

@thanatokephaloides and not so easy to do.

Used to be I was a gamer so that nixed any hope of Linux right off the bat. More lately, photoshop is the stumbling block. I have no real problem with linux. I've installed it dozens of times for USB troubleshooting and for a while I even ran a laptop with a dead HD connector using pendrive linux.

I've thought about running VM's under linux but yeah... lot of hassle and problems for an attempt to stop an enemy that cannot really be fought this way.

—

Submitted by thanatokephaloides on Fri, 05/12/2017 - 5:59pm

Photoshop and Linux

@SnappleBC

Used to be I was a gamer so that nixed any hope of Linux right off the bat. More lately, photoshop is the stumbling block.

Since I've never had the bucks for Photoshop and the need for it at the same time, I've never become dependent on it. The free and open-source GIMP meets all my needs quite well. However, as I remarked to eyo, others' mileage may vary.

If you have a reasonably powered Linux machine about, I do recommend you give GIMP a try. I daresay you may well find yourself pleasantly surprised.

—

"US govt/military = bad. Russian govt/military = bad. Any politician wanting power = bad. Anyone wielding power = bad." --Shahryar

"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides

Submitted by SnappleBC on Fri, 05/12/2017 - 10:05pm

Sadly, GIMP doesn't do the job

@thanatokephaloides I need some of the professional level features like serious color management. I also exchange a lot of other work with graphics professionals so compatibility is key. I've used Gimp before (although they've made some nice improvements recently I've only glanced at). But for me, I'm afraid that photoshop is required.

What I do to keep down costs is buy old versions and keep them for a few years.

—

Submitted by lotlizard on Sat, 05/13/2017 - 4:15am

They should put together a WW2-style poster and PSA campaign.

@thanatokephaloides @thanatokephaloides Along the lines of “Loose lips sink ships” and “Is/Was this trip really necessary?”.

Submitted by Cant Stop the M... on Sat, 05/13/2017 - 8:07am

@thanatokephaloides You sound like the Car

@thanatokephaloides You sound like the Car Talk guys: "A Subaru? Well, there's your problem!"

—

"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha

"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver

Submitted by PriceRip on Fri, 05/12/2017 - 3:03pm

Yawn! Shut the back door.

A small firm hired my brother to optimize their computers. He stripped out the bloatware and backdoor access code and installed his own custom patches. The techs in Redmond detected the illegal activity.

Microsoft's lawyers sent a junior partner to intimidate my brother (big mistake) and the "Owners" of the Microsoft software. This poor fellow got a lesson that day. The lawyer was handed a stack of Microsoft Media held together by a spike driven through and through and a notice informing Microsoft that their backdoor services were no longer required.

Do you get timed automatic updates? Are you required to leave your computer online while you are not around? Do "authorized" personnel access your computer sans your knowledge?

Submitted by GreatLakeSailor on Fri, 05/12/2017 - 3:12pm

From an Ars article

It's not clear if the Eternalblue exploit is Wcry's sole means of spreading or if it has multiple methods of propagating. In an update that was notable for its unlikely and extremely fortuitous timing, Microsoft patched the underlying vulnerability in March, exactly four weeks before the Shadow Brokers' April release published the weapons-grade NSA exploit. The rapid outbreak of Wcry may be an indication that many of the companies hit had yet to install a critical Windows patch more than two months after it was released.

https://arstechnica.com/security/2017/05/an-nsa-derived-ransomware-worm-...

—

Compensated Spokes Model for Big Poor.

Submitted by gjohnsit on Fri, 05/12/2017 - 5:36pm

It's now attacked 99 countries

this could get very bad

There have been reports of infections in 99 countries, including the UK, US, China, Russia, Spain, Italy and Taiwan.
Cyber-security firm Avast said it had seen 75,000 cases of the ransomware - known as WannaCry and variants of that name - around the world.

Submitted by eyo on Sat, 05/13/2017 - 8:43am

Wannacry Killswitch found accidentally

@gjohnsit First round is going quiet for a minute.
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/may/13/accidental-hero-finds-kill-switch-to-stop-spread-of-ransomware-cyber-attack

An accidental hero has halted the global spread of the WannaCry ransomware, reportedly by spending a few dollars on registering a domain name hidden in the malware.

The ransomware has wreaked havoc on organizations including FedEx and Telefonica, as well as the UKs National Health Service (NHS), where operations were cancelled, x-rays, test results and patient records became unavailable and phones did not work.

However, a UK cybersecurity researcher tweeting as @malwaretechblog, with the help of Darien Huss from security firm Proofpoint, found and activated a kill switch in the malicious software.

So simple! lol See how MS has embraced and extended the Internet protocols? lol Search Halloween Papers if you want to feel as old as me right now. oof

Peace

Submitted by Song of the lark on Sat, 05/13/2017 - 9:41am

Crash override.

The deep state and the Elysium corps will start titrating the lives of these hackers now that the war is joined. Run Johnny Mnemonic.