WannaCry is the most devastating computer attack of this year, affecting thousands of companies from dozens of countries around the world, including many hospitals. Last Friday, the computer attack known as WannaCry stopped the activity in dozens of hospitals in Great Britain, but it seriously disrupted the activity of a very large number of companies around the globe.
WannaCry was based on a vulnerability discovered by the NSA in the Windows operating system, the virus spreads very quickly from one computer to another using a Windows SMB vulnerability. The effects of the WannaCry attack could be much greater than those recorded, if a 22-year-old Briton had not managed to stop it, apparently before realizing what he was doing.
A computer security researcher from London, known under the pseudonym MalwareTech, stopped the WannaCry computer attack by simply registering a web domain. Analyzing the source code of the WannaCry virus, he discovered a domain that was not registered, and its registration worked as a method to stop the spread of the virus to other computers.
WannaCry - how much money did the person who stopped the attack receive?
By doing this, apparently without realizing its impact, the man who stopped the WannaCry attack will be rewarded with the sum of 10.000 dollars in the near future. Although the amount is small for an attack that infected so many computers, the man who stopped WannaCry claims that he will donate the entire amount to charity because he does not need money.
Unfortunately, the Brit who stopped WannaCry realized that such acts also have unwanted consequences, his true identity being published by the press, together with pictures showing his face. Things went further than that because of the importance of the WannaCry attack, so that British journalists suddenly appeared in front of his house.
"I don't do what I do for money or fame. I'd rather give the money to people who need it. If you turn up at my house you're crossed off the list of potential media outlets I will do an exclusive with. For the record I don't 'fear for my safety,' I'm just unhappy with trying to help clear up Friday's mess with the doorbell going constantly."
WannaCry will go down in history as proof of the fact that many institutions and companies are very vulnerable to computer attacks. Here we also include Romania, where WannaCry most seriously affected the activity of the Dacia factories, which were temporarily closed so that the virus could be removed from the systems.
