Massive Cyberattack Tied To Stolen NSA Tool Strikes Across The Globe: Report

WASHINGTON, DC — Cyberattacks hit dozens of countries Friday, shutting down tens of thousands of individual computers and entire networks serving businesses and hospitals with a hacking tool called ransomware. The malware infiltrates computers and spreads rapidly, locking out users and posting a message on screens that warns data will be destroyed unless a payment is made. In this case, the hackers demanded $300 on Bitcoin to regain access.

More than 70 countries have been hit, including FedEx in the United States. The British health system appears to be hit severely, with thousands of reported cases of the ransomware program "WannaCry" taking hold of computers in hospitals across the country. Doctors could not access patient information and hospitals were forced to divert patients seeking emergency care.

Kaspersky Lab, a Russian cybersecurity firm, said it had recorded at least 45,000 attacks in as many as 74 countries.

"This attack once again proves that ransomware is a powerful weapon that can be used against consumers and businesses alike," writes malware researcher Jakub Kroustek at Avast Blog. "Ransomware becomes particularly nasty when it infects institutions like hospitals, where it can put people’s lives in danger."

The hacking tool was believed to be one of many stolen from the U.S. National Security and leaked online by a group calling itself the Shadow Brokers.

The tool exploits a vulnerability in Microsoft systems that was believed to have been discovered and developed by the National Security Agency of the United States. Microsoft told users in March to update their computers with a patch it developed to fix the vulnerability. The hackers apparently targeted systems that hadn't installed the patch.

Read the full report at the BBC.

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