Microsoft warned on Sunday of the dangers of concealing any information gap it may discover, warning that the unprecedented cyber-attack that has occurred since Friday, more than 200,000 victims in 150 countries is an example of the risk of such practices. It called for an international agreement requiring governments to report on Program gaps.
"The attack on hundreds of thousands of computers around the world is an invitation to vigilance and governments should treat it as a warning bell," said Brad Smith, general counsel of US software firm Brad Smith.
He warned of the risk of information weapons that could be developed by governments in the hands of hackers, as happened in the case of the US National Security Agency, which hid a security vulnerability discovered in the system of Windows for the benefit of its benefit, but this information occurred in the hands of hackers later exploited to launch the largest electronic attack for financial ransoms ever seen in the world.
"A similar scenario with conventional weapons means some of the US Army's Tomahawk missiles have been stolen," said Smith, who is also the company's deputy CEO.
He called on governments to apply the same strict rules they take to protect their conventional weapons to protect their stocks of such programs or electronic weapons, which he said were a problem because they were vulnerable to piracy, targeting and theft from others.
He added that Microsoft is calling for the conclusion of the "Digital Geneva Convention" under which all governments commit to report any security vulnerability detected in any software program to the manufacturer of the program rather than to hide, sell or exploit.
"We need governments to consider the harm done to civilians by hiding these vulnerabilities and using these gaps," he said.
Smith defended Microsoft and said it had developed computer protection programs that many companies around the world had not used to update their old machines, saying the company was working around the clock to help those affected by the latest attack.
The virus exploits a flaw in Windows systems exposed by pirated documents of the US National Security Agency, which affects especially Windows XP, which Microsoft no longer technically responsible for technical follow-up or provide security updates, but the company issued a security update on the system Friday after the launch of cyber-attacks. While the new operating system was not targeted to Windows 10.
The attack used a virus called "Wanna cry" that prevents the user from infecting the computer when the victim opens files and forces him to pay $ 300 to recover them. The ransom is paid in a digital currency that is difficult to track.
The unprecedented attack raises fears of "electronic chaos" after experts said they feared the impact of the virus would worsen on Monday with millions of computers running, especially in Asia.
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