North Korea Suspected in Global Cyber Attack
Experts believe that the cyber attack known as “WannaCry” was carried out by North Korean hackers. This “ransomware” has so far disabled hundreds of thousands of computers in 150 countries, including Iran.
The “WannaCry” cyber attack, which has disabled over 300,000 computers worldwide since May 12 (Ordibehesht 22), is at the top of cyber news.
Security experts from American company “Symantec” and Russian “Kaspersky” have examined portions of this virus or “ransomware” code and concluded that parts of these codes also existed in previous viruses of the hacker group “Lazarus.”
Neil Neta, a Google security expert, has also published codes on the internet that clearly show the similarities between “WannaCry” and cyber attacks by North Korean hackers.
Internet security specialists have found that the main headquarters of “Lazarus” is in North Korea. The country’s representative at the United Nations has not yet responded in this regard.
A 2014 cyber attack on Sony and the theft of some of Bangladesh’s central bank funds in 2016 were attributed to “Lazarus.”
“WannaCry” is capable of encrypting computers and disabling them. Cyber attackers extort ransom from their victims to break the codes, which is why this virus is called “ransomware.”
According to American officials, approximately $70,000 in ransom has been paid so far, but despite this, no computer has been freed from the “WannaCry” disaster.
Based on some reports, the main target of this “ransomware” is computer networks of large companies and government agencies.
“WannaCry” in Iran
According to Iranian news websites, this dangerous virus has also infiltrated some Iranian computers.
It is said that over 2,000 cases of “WannaCry” infection have been reported in Iran so far. The highest contamination has been among telecommunications operators, health and medical, and academic institutions, particularly in Tehran and Isfahan provinces.
Experts’ recommendations for preventing cyber attacks are that users update their Windows operating system and antivirus software, back up important files, and not open email attachments that appear suspicious.
Source: DW
