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VarshaJain
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The menacing spread, starting last Friday, of the malicious software WannaCry, which has since infected thousands of Computer Systems in 150 countries, is a frightening reminder of the vulnerabilities of a connected world. The cyber-attackers who unleashed it, as yet unknown, have essentially used chinks in Microsoft's outdated software to remotely gain excess to computers of unsuspecting users so as to lock them out of their files. These attacks have been in the nature of what are called 'ransomware', wherein attackers demand a ransom (usually in Bitcoins, which are tougher to trace than regular currency) to decrypt the files they have force-encrypted.
Cyber risk modelling firm Cyence estimates the economic damage to be $4 billion, a figure that may not seem daunting for a global-scale disruption such as this one. But its spread has exposed the lack of preparedness among government and private institutions. The list of unsuspecting users who fell prey to the malware includes the UK's National Health Service, German transport company Deutsche Bahn, courier delivery services company FedEx and car-maker Renault.
Only some weeks earlier Microsoft had made available a patch to remove the chinks, something that raises doubts over whether even large institutions are complacent on cyber risks. That governments across the world went on alert after the outbreak of the global 'epidemic' in some consolation. So is the fact that Indian institutions have been largely unscratched by the malware until now. Things however, could have been worse had a British researcher not registered a domain name hidden in the malware, there by accidentally stopping its spread as also its momentum.
Held at ransom: on the recent ransomware attacks. The malware attack this weekend must hasten moves towards global rules on cyber threats. There is need to develop a robust software against these type of attack. Let's see what steps India will take in future as it's going to become the biggest digital economy.