Hello Steemers,
I have heard about this ransomware attack today so thought I would share my views on this with you!
According to Russian antivirus agency Kaspersky Lab, the ransomware is using a forged Microsoft digital signature that exploits a Microsoft Office vulnerability that security firm FireEye discovered earlier this year.
Kaspersky Lab said that there had been about 2,000 attacks earlier today (27th June 2017) across Central Europe, Russia and India.
Ukrainian are among the first to report issues which include airports, banks, and government agencies.
The attack appears to have exploited the same type of tools used in the WannaCry ransomware attack that infected hundreds of companies globally in May 2017 until a British cyber security expert created a kill switch.
Now the real question is: Are the hackers behind this cyber attack really money-motivated or do they just want to cause chaos and disrupt services?
Based on the figures from the WannaCry attack, the hackers made just about $50,000 for creating a global mess which lasted for 4 days.
So far the hackers have made around $8,000 from this new cyber attack as per this screenshot from bitcoin blockchain.
Screenshot of recent transactions to 1Mz7153HMuxXTuR2R1t78mGSdzaAtNbBWX
Ransomeware Bitcoin address:
1Mz7153HMuxXTuR2R1t78mGSdzaAtNbBWX
Based on these figures, the hackers behind these cyber attacks don't seem money-motivated at all. This is well-planned and nicely executed work to cause disruption and nothing else.
I would love to hear your thoughts and what you think of these cyber attacks.
Until next time,
Rick