024 How It Works http://www.howitworksdaily.com
SPECIAL
Fewattackshavebeenasdevastatingoras
shadow yasonethattookplacejusta coupleof
yearsago:theWannaCr yattack.
Itstartedjustlikeanyothermorningon 12 May
2017,whenataround08.24anunsuspecting
computeruseropenedwhatappearedtobea
harmlessemail.Theemailcontainedan
attachmentwhich,onceopened,downloaded
ransomwareontotheirsystem.Ransomwareis
computercodethat’sbeendesignedtoencrypta
system– scramblingallthedataona harddrive- andonlyunscramblesit whena usergivesinto
thehacker’sdemands,suchaspayingmoney,
hencethenameransomware.
Ifyou’dbeenoneofthoseaffectedbythe
WannaCr yattack,you’dhaveloggedontoyour
computerandseena messageaskingyoufor
money,withallofyourprivateinformationsuch
asyourpictures,bankrecords,games,videos–
ever y thing– completelyscrambled.
Itbegantospreadaroundtheworldlike
wildfire.Thefirstcompanytoreportproblems
wasSpanishtelecomsgiantTelefonica,w ith
multiplestafffindingthey’dbeenlockedoutof
theircomputers.
By11:00theUK’sNationalHealthSer v ice
(NHS)reportedproblems,with 80 outof 236
to intercept and read thousands of private
emails fly ing all over the place, includingsome
with top-secret information. He then usedwhat
he found to steal a piece of NASA soft wareand
shut dow n systems for three weeks.
Cyber attacks had traditionally been carried
out by lone criminals – and usually for a variet y
of reasons. Some like to test their skills againsta
system and share their successes with othersin
their shadow y communit y. Some do it purelyfor
the money, such as Russian hacker groupEv il
Corp, who are thought to have stolen over$100
million (£77 million) from ordinar y people
around the world. Others do it for what theysee
as ‘good reasons’, such as finding gaps ina
company’s net work so they can take stepstofixit
before any serious damage is done.
The first group – the bad guys – are referredto
in the hacking communit y as ‘black hat’ hackers,
while the latter – who think of themselvesasthe
‘good guys’ – are called ‘white hat’ hackers.
Often when a black hat hacker is caught,if
they’re good enough at what they do, law
enforcement or industry will actually givethem
a job tracking down other hackers and helpingto
fix flaws in a computer system. But as technolog y
has become more sophisticated, hackinghas
become a profession with thousands employed
by governments as a new tool in their arsenalof
war. Often overseen by spy agencies, they’retold
to carr y out attacks on rival countries’
infrastructure and steal secret information.
In 2007, in what is believed to have beenthe
first incident of cyber warfare, the Estonian
government announced plans to move anold
Sov iet war memorial, but found itself undera
digital assault that sent its banks and
government ser vices into meltdown. Russiawas
blamed, but denied any knowledge.
This evolving threat led to the creationofthe
US Cyber Command in 2009. Part of the USA ir
Force, it was placed under the commandof
General Keith A lexander. It was now official– the
cyber threat had gone from kids in bedrooms
looking to make a quick buck or prove their
smartstosomethingthatwasnowv iewedasa
threattonationalsecurity.
A lexander’sfearswerewellfoundedtoo,with
theUSaccusingChinaofinfiltratinglargeUS
corporationstostealtheirideas,including
Googlein2010,andatleast 33 othercorporations
suchasNorthropGrumman– a majorweapons
manufacturer.TheUShasalsoaccusedIran,
RussiaandNorthKoreaofbeingmajorstate
sponsorsofc yberattacks.Intotal, 28 nationsare
suspectedofstate-sponsoredc yberattacks,
includingtheUS.
Inmanywaystheseattacksposemoreofa
threatthanconventionalwarfare.Withan
invasion,therearesignsofmilitar ybuild-up:
tanksneedbuilding,pilotsneedtraining.With
c yberattacks,theycancomeatanytimewith
thepressofa button,devastatinga whole
country’seconomyorpowergridinaninstant.Protecting your system from malware
MalwarelikeWannaCrywasabletospreadbecauseit exploitedweaknessesin
WindowsthatMicrosofthadalreadyreleasedpatches(softwareupdatesthat
fixtheweaknesses)formonthsearlier.Butnoteveryonehaddownloadedthem.
ThoseWindowsupdatesmaytakea while,butthey’retherefora reason.Also,
installinganti-virussoftwareanda firewallwillhelptokeeptheworstmalware
away.Makesureyoudownloadupdatesforthemandrunscansregularly– you
neverknowwhat’slurkingonyourharddrive.
Inaddition,justbesensible.Don’topenemailsfromanyoneyoudon’tknowor
clicklinksunlessyouknowthesource.Makesureyouusestrongpasswords
thatarehardtoguessandchangethemoften.
Cyberattackswillsometimestrytoencryptyourpersonaldata,somakesure
you’vebackedeverythinguptoanexternalharddriveorthecloudsoyoudon’t
losethemforgoodif youdofallfoulofa hacker.Even simple things
like keeping your
password up to
date can help
protect your
computer© XXXXXXXIn 2019, the FBI issued warrants for
the arrest of a Russian hacker
group, ‘Evil Corp’, including
Ukrainian hacker Maksim Yakubets© Getty“Some like to test
their skills against
a system”