How It Works - UK (2020-05)

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hospitaltrustshav ingtheircomputerslocked
out,leadingtomanyofitspatientshavingtobe
divertedtoalternativeaccidentand
emergencydepartments.
Theattackdidn’tstopthere.Chinesepetrol
stationshadtheirpay mentsystemscutoff,
Germanrailwayslostcontroloftheirpassenger
informationsystemandFedEx’slogistical
operationsweredisruptedintheUnitedStates.
FrenchcarmakerRenaultandtheRussian
MinistryoftheInteriorwerealsohit.
WithinhourstheWannaCr yv irushadspread
to230,000computersin 150 countriesbefore
beingstoppedbyananalystwhodiscovereda
‘killswitch’thatshutit down,butit istothisday
regardedasoneofthemostdestructivecyber
attackseverseen.

Thereasonthemalwarewasabletospreadso

quicklyisthatit exploitedsecurit y

v ulnerabilitiesinoldversionsofMicrosoft

Windows.Thisv ulnerabilit yhadallegedlybeen

discoveredbyUSintelligencesomemonths

earlier,butinsteadofwarningpeoplethey

turnedit intoa cyberweaponcalledEternalBlue.

Thisc yberweaponwaslaterstolenbya hacker

groupcalledtheShadowBrokers,andit’s

thoughtit wasusedtohelpthemalwarespread

rapidly.TheUSandUKgovernmentswouldlater

singleouthackersw ithlinkstoNorthKorean

intelligence agencies with the attack.

If you take a look around you, you’ll probably

see a smartphone, tablet, laptop or a smart TV.

Maybe there’s some other smart tech in your

home: a doorbell that links to your phone or a

thermostat you can turn up or down by text. On

the drive maybe there’s a car with all the mod

cons like GPS. But ever y single one of these

things could be used as a weapon in a c yber war.

We’re surrounded by modern computer

technolog y, and increasingly it’s all connected to

one another as part of the ‘internet of things’ –

the tech that links smart dev ices together.

A 2017 briefing by US intelligence claimed

connected thermostats, cameras and cookers

could all be used either to spy or cause

disruption if they were hacked. Only last year,

the FBI warned that smart TV speakers, which

are designed to listen to our voices, could be

hacked for surveillance purposes.

What’s clear is that whether it’s in our own

homes or outside on the v irtual battlefield, a

conflict bet ween those who want to take control

oftechnology will continue to rage for the

foreseeable future.

“Within hours

WannaCry had spread

to 230,000 computers”

The US power grid was

allegedly attacked by

Russian hackers in 2018

© Courtesy of the American Public Power Assoc

at

on

95

The number of breaches

due to human error

6

months

It typically takes

half a year for

companies to detect

a hacker problem

200 billion
Estimated number of connected devices by the end of 2020

24,000

Malicious mobile apps blocked

in their thousands every day

4.5

billion

Number of records hacked

in the first part in 2018

3.5

million

Cyber security job

vacancies by 2021

The FBI’s

online

‘Cyber’s

Most

Wanted’

list

features

over 100

people

Cyber crimes are hugely

underreported because victims

are often too embarrassed

Hacker armies are now being employed

by governments for cyber warfare

© Getty