In a shocking revelation of sorts, the White House has publicly made a staggering claim and named the country behind this year’s deadly WannaCry Ransomware attack which had locked more than 300,000 computers in over 150 countries and created a huge global stir.
Homeland Security Advisor, Tom Bossert, held North Korea “directly responsible” for carrying out the Ransomware attack. He made this sensational claim in an opinion piece published in The Wall Street Journal.
Bossert asserted that after careful investigation, Washington can say that Pyongyang is “directly responsible” for the WannaCry virus.
The WannaCry Ransomware spread in May this year after exploiting a vulnerability in Windows operating system. The vulnerability was actually a security patch update related bug which led to hackers carrying out global attacks on old Windows XP-run systems, especially at workplaces.
Interestingly in October 2017, Britain too had raised its suspicion on hacking activities emanating from hackers based in Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea which is run by dictator Kim Jong Un.
Many cyber security experts widely believe that the attack serves the purpose of punching above its weight for North Korea. They believe Pyongyang has a well-equipped unit of savvy hackers who have access to the global networks.
Furthermore, apart from an internal apparatus there are many notorious hacking organisations that are linked to North Korea such as the “Lazarus Group” – a hacker collective. Bossert termed the ransomware attack, wherein victims were coerced with ransom demands to unlock their computers, as “cowardly, costly and careless.”
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He further said that the U.S. administration shall continue to use its “maximum pressure strategy to curb Pyongyang’s ability to mount attacks, cyber or otherwise.”
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