The so-called Wanna Decyptor ransomware is currently moving across 74 countries in more than 45,000 attacks, including a massive takedown of several UK hospitals.
The number of infections is quickly growing, according to a Kaspersky’s Twitter post.
Security experts say the attack is exploiting the Server Message Block (SMB) critical vulnerability that was patched by Microsoft on March 14, MS17-010. The zero day exploit, aka ETERNALBLUE, believed to be an NSA exploit tool, initially was leaked by Shadowbrokers, prompting a patch from Microsoft.
Tom Bossert, a homeland security adviser to U.S. President Donald Trump, says the recent global cyberattack is something that “for right now, we’ve got under control” in the United States.
Bossert tells ABC’s “Good Morning America” that the malware is an “extremely serious threat” that could inspire copycat attacks. But Microsoft’s security patch released in March should protect U.S. networks for those who install it.
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