The 'WannaCrypt ' ransomware has been a worldwide dilemma , impacting many countries . Luckily , the malware only impacts older versions of Microsoft 's operating system -- Windows 10 is not vulnerable . Also immune to WannaCrypt is macOS and Linux distributions . Unfortunately , many people run older versions of Windows , but Microsoft has been very active in issuing Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability patches for them -- including for the now-unsupported XP . Patches aside , security software can protect vulnerable computers too . In fact , today , Symantec announces that it has successfully blocked almost 22 million WannaCrypt attacks Attack.Ransom . The company even leveraged machine learning in its fight against the ransomware . The company explains that it , `` blocked nearly 22 million WannaCry infection attempts across 300,000 endpoints , providing full protection for Symantec customers through its advanced exploit protection technology . The WannaCry ransomware attacks Attack.Ransom targeted and affected users in various countries across the globe by encrypting data files on infected computers and demanding Attack.Ransom users pay Attack.Ransom a $ 300USD ransom Attack.Ransom in bitcoin to decrypt their files . The protection of Symantec customers was enabled in part due to the integration of real-time threat intelligence shared across both Symantec Endpoint Protection and the Blue Coat ProxySG , which provided real-time threat awareness across the endpoint , network and cloud . '' Mike Fey , president and chief operating officer at Symantec explains , `` The WannaCry ransomware attack Attack.Ransom is the largest we 've ever seen of its kind and we 're pleased to share that Symantec customers benefited from multiple layers of protection even before it happened , through innovations and new capabilities in our Integrated Cyber Defense Platform . Our proactive network protection and advanced machine learning technologies provided real-time , zero-day , protection for all SEP and Norton customers when WannaCry was released last week . And , our Global Intelligence Network automatically shares WannaCry intelligence between Symantec endpoint , email and Blue Coat network products , providing full protection across all control points , including the cloud . '' While Symantec 's announcement highlights the importance of security software for both home and business users , it should n't distract from the fact that it is also imperative to apply operating system updates in a timely matter . Also important is using supported software . Yes , Microsoft patched Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability the unsupported Windows XP , but that OS should really not even be in use anymore .

A cybersecurity firm said that the recent WannaCry ransomware attacks Attack.Ransom may be connected to the group that orchestrated one of the biggest cyberheists in history that involved a Philippine bank . Kaspersky Lab , a cybersecurity and antivirus provider in Moscow , said in a statement that a security researcher at Google found an “ artifact ” on Twitter potentially linking the WannaCry ransomware attacks Attack.Ransom that hit Attack.Ransom organizations and individuals in several dozen countries and the Lazarus hacking group which was responsible for several devastating cyberattacks on government organizations , media firms and financial institutions in recent years . “ On Monday , May 15 , a security researcher from Google posted an artifact on Twitter potentially pointing at a connection between the WannaCry ransomware attacks Attack.Ransom that recently hit Attack.Ransom thousands of organizations and private users around the world , and the malware attributed to the infamous Lazarus hacking group , responsible for a series of devastating attacks against government organizations , media and financial institutions , ” Kaspersky said . Late last week , a worm dubbed WannaCry locked up more than 200,000 computers in more than 150 countries , disrupting Attack.Ransom operations of car factories , hospitals , shops , schools and other institutions . The attack on late Friday was slowed down after a security researcher took control of a server linked to the attack , crippling its ability to rapidly spread across the world . The Lazarus group meanwhile has been linked to several large-scale operations such as the attacks against Sony Pictures in 2014 and a series of similar attacks that continued until 2017 . One of the biggest attacks carried out by the Lazarus group was the Central Bank of Bangladesh heist in 2016 , one of the biggest in history . In that operation , hackers sent Attack.Phishing fraudulent messages that were made to appear to be Attack.Phishing from the Bangladeshi central bank to transfer $ 1 billion from its account in the Federal Reserve of New York . Most of the transfers were blocked but about $ 81 million was sent to RCBC in the Philippines . The money was moved around to make it difficult to trace . Kaspersky said that the Google researcher pointed at a WannaCry malware sample which appeared in February 2017 , weeks before the late Friday attack . Based on the analysis of Kaspersky researchers , it was confirmed that there was “ clear code similarities ” between the sample highlighted by the Google expert and the malware samples used by the Lazarus group in their 2015 attacks . Kaspersky however admitted that the similarities might be a false flag although another analysis of the February and WannaCry samples used in the recent operation showed that the code which could point at the Lazarus group was removed from the malware . Kasperksy said that this could be an attempt to cover the traces of the perpetrators of the WannaCry operations . “ Although this similarity alone does n't allow proof of a strong connection between the WannaCry ransomware and the Lazarus Group , it can potentially lead to new ones which would shed light on the WannaCry origin which to the moment remains a mystery , ” Kaspersky said .

A cybersecurity firm said that the recent WannaCry ransomware attacks Attack.Ransom may be connected to the group that orchestrated one of the biggest cyberheists in history that involved a Philippine bank . Kaspersky Lab , a cybersecurity and antivirus provider in Moscow , said in a statement that a security researcher at Google found an “ artifact ” on Twitter potentially linking the WannaCry ransomware attacks Attack.Ransom that hit Attack.Ransom organizations and individuals in several dozen countries and the Lazarus hacking group which was responsible for several devastating cyberattacks on government organizations , media firms and financial institutions in recent years . “ On Monday , May 15 , a security researcher from Google posted an artifact on Twitter potentially pointing at a connection between the WannaCry ransomware attacks Attack.Ransom that recently hit Attack.Ransom thousands of organizations and private users around the world , and the malware attributed to the infamous Lazarus hacking group , responsible for a series of devastating attacks against government organizations , media and financial institutions , ” Kaspersky said . Late last week , a worm dubbed WannaCry locked up more than 200,000 computers in more than 150 countries , disrupting Attack.Ransom operations of car factories , hospitals , shops , schools and other institutions . The attack on late Friday was slowed down after a security researcher took control of a server linked to the attack , crippling its ability to rapidly spread across the world . The Lazarus group meanwhile has been linked to several large-scale operations such as the attacks against Sony Pictures in 2014 and a series of similar attacks that continued until 2017 . One of the biggest attacks carried out by the Lazarus group was the Central Bank of Bangladesh heist in 2016 , one of the biggest in history . In that operation , hackers sent Attack.Phishing fraudulent messages that were made to appear to be Attack.Phishing from the Bangladeshi central bank to transfer $ 1 billion from its account in the Federal Reserve of New York . Most of the transfers were blocked but about $ 81 million was sent to RCBC in the Philippines . The money was moved around to make it difficult to trace . Kaspersky said that the Google researcher pointed at a WannaCry malware sample which appeared in February 2017 , weeks before the late Friday attack . Based on the analysis of Kaspersky researchers , it was confirmed that there was “ clear code similarities ” between the sample highlighted by the Google expert and the malware samples used by the Lazarus group in their 2015 attacks . Kaspersky however admitted that the similarities might be a false flag although another analysis of the February and WannaCry samples used in the recent operation showed that the code which could point at the Lazarus group was removed from the malware . Kasperksy said that this could be an attempt to cover the traces of the perpetrators of the WannaCry operations . “ Although this similarity alone does n't allow proof of a strong connection between the WannaCry ransomware and the Lazarus Group , it can potentially lead to new ones which would shed light on the WannaCry origin which to the moment remains a mystery , ” Kaspersky said .