Counting the cost of the WannaCry carnage

Less than two weeks after cybersecurity specialists temporarily stopped the spread of the rampant WannaCry ransomware, new adaptations of the code are being identified and flagged. And Legalbrief notes that analysts are warning that while this was a relatively unsophisticated attack, it has served notice that experienced hackers have the ability to cause far greater damage. Around the world, authorities continue to assess the extent of the damage. The ransomware that spread through the UK’s National Health Service and companies around the world shows ‘compelling evidence’ of a link to North Korean hacking group Lazarus, according to a new report by Symantec. The Financial Times reports that the cyber security company believes there is a ‘close connection’ to Lazarus, the group behind the cyber attacks on Sony Pictures and the Bangladesh central bank, because of similarities in the tools, code and infrastructure used by the hackers. However, it notes that the hackers could have been moonlighting and may not have been directed by the North Korean Government. Vikram Thakur, technical director of Symantec Security Response, said while there is ‘a very high level of certainty’ that the attackers were using the same tools as Lazarus, the ‘botched’ operation leads them to believe that it was not the work of a nation state, which is usually more sophisticated, according to the report.