Digital evidence expert, Dr. Abdul Razzaq Al-Murjan, expected that some service agencies would announce today that they were affected by the “ransom” virus after it hit global centers, since the virus started on the weekend, and that it will focus on infrastructure sectors, such as communications, transportation and hospitals, calling on everyone to take the necessary precautions to protect from harm, and follow the recommendations of the National Security Center.
He said that the global attack targeted Germany, Spain, Russia and Britain, ruling out that there are political goals behind it, as it focuses on making money after encrypting the information on the devices and requesting payment in exchange for opening them, and it starts with $ 300, and the amount doubles in the event of late payment, after which the encrypted files are deleted.
He pointed out that the virus is "WannaCry" that comes through unknown links or visiting fake sites, or through attachments, and behind it is a group of professional hackers, who took advantage of a loophole announced by the American Security Center. They used the information to attack, and he added that individuals are more vulnerable because they do not update their devices, so they become easy prey, and the attacks that hit hospitals, trains and infrastructure were monitored in a number of countries, most notably the Russian Ministry of Interior, as more than 1,000 devices have been hit to date, and they are not new. The attacks began in 2016, using malicious programs such as “Kroti”, “VicPassword”, and “TethScript”, 50% of which targeted America, followed by Italy, Turkey and Britain in varying proportions.
Ibrahim Aqili (Jeddah) @iageely