WannaCry ransomware first hit organizations

[rakhirhif8963]

Cybersecurity 2017: Old and New Problems
Sean Michael Koerner | 12/22/2017
2017 was another tough year for cybersecurity, with numerous vulnerabilities and major data breaches becoming public knowledge.

As 2017 draws to a close, it’s time to take a look at what happened this year in the cybersecurity space. The year was a turning point for cybersecurity in many ways. Organizations tried to protect themselves, but the number of attacks and intrusions reached new heights.

2017 saw a number of important events in cybersecurity: ransomware outbreaks including WannaCry and NotPetya, the discovery of Amazon cloud storage misconfigurations, the discovery of new vulnerabilities like KRACK, and massive data thefts like the Equifax attack.

Many of these major cybersecurity events had a common root cause: neglect to patch.

Ransomware
A year ago, ransomware was noted as a growing norway whatsapp data in the 2017 cybersecurity predictions list. This year, it has caused more damage and cost more than ever before.

On May 12, the around the world, including hospitals in the UK, which were forced to shut down. Months after its first appearance, WannaCry was still hitting its target and was responsible for shutting down a Honda Motor plant in June.

The underlying Microsoft vulnerability that allowed WannaCry to run was allegedly created by the National Security Agency and then stolen by a group known as the Shadow Brokers. As for Microsoft, it fixed the issue in March in its MS17-010 advisory. However, not all organizations around the world installed the patch and could have been exposed to WannaCry as a result.

The NotPetya ransomware attack occurred in June. It was initially thought to be more limited than WannaCry. But that turned out to be not the case. The vulnerability exploited by NotPetya, like the one exploited by WannaCry, had a patch. Had organizations installed it, it could have mitigated the damage caused by the ransomware. A number of multinational organizations, including TNT Express, Reckitt Benckiser, and Maersk, reported financial losses as a result of NotPetya-related service interruptions. Total losses from NotPetya could exceed $1 billion.