|
WannaCry
The WannaCry ransomware attack was a worldwide cyberattack in May 2017 by the WannaCry ransomware cryptoworm, which targeted computers running the Microsoft Windows operating system by encrypting data and demanding ransom payments in the Bitcoin cryptocurrency. It propagated by using EternalBlue, an exploit developed by the United States National Security Agency (NSA) for Windows systems. EternalBlue was stolen and leaked by a group called The Shadow Brokers a month prior to the attack. While Microsoft had released patches previously to close the exploit, much of WannaCry's spread was from organizations that had not applied these, or were using older Windows systems that were past their end-of-life. These patches were imperative to organizations' cyber security but many were not implemented due to ignorance of their importance. Some have claimed a need for 24/7 operation, aversion to risking having formerly working applications breaking because of patch changes, lack of person ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marcus Hutchins
Marcus Hutchins (born 1994), also known online as MalwareTech, is a British computer security researcher known for stopping the WannaCry ransomware attack. He is employed by cybersecurity firm Kryptos Logic. Hutchins is from Ilfracombe in Devon. Early life Hutchins is the elder son of Janet Hutchins, a Scottish nurse, and Desmond Hutchins, a Jamaican social worker. Around 2003, when Hutchins was nine years old, the parents moved the family from urban Bracknell, near London, to rural Devon. Hutchins had shown early aptitude with computers and learned simple hacking skills early on such as bypassing security on school computers to install video game software. In addition, he spent time learning to be a surf lifeguard. He became involved with an online forum that promoted malware development, more as a means to show off their skills to each other rather than for nefarious purposes. When he was about 14 years old, he created his own contribution, a password stealer based on Inter ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
EternalBlue
EternalBlue is a computer exploit (computer security), exploit developed by the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA). It was leaked by the The Shadow Brokers, Shadow Brokers hacker group on April 14, 2017, one month after Microsoft released patches for the Vulnerability (computing), vulnerability. On May 12, 2017, the worldwide WannaCry ransomware used this exploit to attack unpatched computers. On June 27, 2017, the exploit was again used to help carry out the 2017 NotPetya cyberattack on more unpatched computers. The exploit was also reported to have been used since March 2016 by the Chinese hacking group Advanced persistent threat#APT groups, Buckeye (APT3), after they likely found and re-purposed the tool, as well as reported to have been used as part of the Retefe banking Trojan horse (computing), trojan since at least September 5, 2017. EternalBlue was among the several exploits used, in conjunction with the DoublePulsar Backdoor (computing), backdoor implant tool, in exe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lazarus Group
Lazarus Group (also known by other monikers such as Guardians of Peace or Whois Team ) is a cybercrime group made up of an unknown number of individuals run by the government of North Korea. While not much is known about the Lazarus Group, researchers have attributed many cyberattacks to them between 2010 and 2021. Originally a criminal group, the group has now been designated as an advanced persistent threat due to intended nature, threat, and wide array of methods used when conducting an operation. Names given by cybersecurity organizations include Hidden Cobra (used by the United States Department of Homeland Security to refer to malicious cyber activity by the North Korean government in general) and Zinc (by Microsoft). The Lazarus Group has strong links to North Korea. The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation says that the Lazarus Group is a North Korean "state-sponsored hacking organization". According to North Korean defector Kim Kuk-song, the unit is internally k ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ransomware
Ransomware is a type of malware from cryptovirology that threatens to publish the victim's personal data or permanently block access to it unless a ransom is paid off. While some simple ransomware may lock the system without damaging any files, more advanced malware uses a technique called cryptoviral extortion. It encrypts the victim's files, making them inaccessible, and demands a ransom payment to decrypt them. In a properly implemented cryptoviral extortion attack, recovering the files without the decryption key is an intractable problem – and difficult to trace digital currencies such as paysafecard or Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are used for the ransoms, making tracing and prosecuting the perpetrators difficult. Ransomware attacks are typically carried out using a Trojan disguised as a legitimate file that the user is tricked into downloading or opening when it arrives as an email attachment. However, one high-profile example, the WannaCry worm, traveled automat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ransomware
Ransomware is a type of malware from cryptovirology that threatens to publish the victim's personal data or permanently block access to it unless a ransom is paid off. While some simple ransomware may lock the system without damaging any files, more advanced malware uses a technique called cryptoviral extortion. It encrypts the victim's files, making them inaccessible, and demands a ransom payment to decrypt them. In a properly implemented cryptoviral extortion attack, recovering the files without the decryption key is an intractable problem – and difficult to trace digital currencies such as paysafecard or Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are used for the ransoms, making tracing and prosecuting the perpetrators difficult. Ransomware attacks are typically carried out using a Trojan disguised as a legitimate file that the user is tricked into downloading or opening when it arrives as an email attachment. However, one high-profile example, the WannaCry worm, traveled automat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Server Message Block
Server Message Block (SMB) is a communication protocol originally developed in 1983 by Barry A. Feigenbaum at IBM and intended to provide shared access to files and printers across nodes on a network of systems running IBM's OS/2. It also provides an authenticated inter-process communication (IPC) mechanism. In 1987, Microsoft and 3Com implemented SMB in LAN Manager for OS/2, at which time SMB used the NetBIOS service atop the NetBIOS Frames protocol as its underlying transport. Later, Microsoft implemented SMB in Windows NT 3.1 and has been updating it ever since, adapting it to work with newer underlying transports: TCP/IP and NetBT. SMB implementation consists of two vaguely named Windows services: "Server" (ID: LanmanServer) and "Workstation" (ID: LanmanWorkstation). It uses NTLM or Kerberos protocols for user authentication. In 1996, Microsoft published a version of SMB 1.0 with minor modifications under the Common Internet File System (CIFS ) moniker. CIFS was compatible w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kill Switch
A kill switch, also known as an emergency stop (E-stop), emergency off (EMO) and as an emergency power off (EPO), is a safety mechanism used to shut off machinery in an emergency, when it cannot be shut down in the usual manner. Unlike a normal shut-down switch or shut-down procedure, which shuts down all systems in order and turns off the machine without damage, a kill switch is designed and configured to abort the operation as quickly as possible (even if it damages the equipment) and to be operated simply and quickly (so that even a panicked operator with impaired executive functions or a bystander can activate it). Kill switches are usually designed to be noticeable, even to an untrained operator or a bystander. Some kill switches feature a removable, protective barrier against accidental activation (e.g. a plastic cover that must be lifted or glass that must be broken), known as a mollyguard. Kill switches are features of mechanisms whose normal operation or foreseeable mi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
DoublePulsar
DoublePulsar is a backdoor implant tool developed by the U.S. National Security Agency's (NSA) Equation Group that was leaked by The Shadow Brokers in early 2017. The tool infected more than 200,000 Microsoft Windows computers in only a few weeks, and was used alongside EternalBlue in the May 2017 WannaCry ransomware attack. A variant of DoublePulsar was first seen in the wild in March 2016, as discovered by Symantec. Sean Dillon, senior analyst of security company RiskSense Inc., first dissected and inspected DoublePulsar. He said that the NSA exploits are "10 times worse" than the Heartbleed security bug, and use DoublePulsar as the primary payload. DoublePulsar runs in kernel mode, which grants cybercriminals a high level of control over the computer system. Once installed, it uses three commands: ping, kill, and exec, the latter of which can be used to load malware Malware (a portmanteau for ''malicious software'') is any software intentionally designed to cause disru ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
National Security Agency
The National Security Agency (NSA) is a national-level intelligence agency of the United States Department of Defense, under the authority of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI). The NSA is responsible for global monitoring, collection, and processing of information and data for foreign and domestic intelligence and counterintelligence purposes, specializing in a discipline known as signals intelligence (SIGINT). The NSA is also tasked with the protection of U.S. communications networks and information systems. The NSA relies on a variety of measures to accomplish its mission, the majority of which are clandestine. The existence of the NSA was not revealed until 1975. The NSA has roughly 32,000 employees. Originating as a unit to decipher coded communications in World War II, it was officially formed as the NSA by President Harry S. Truman in 1952. Between then and the end of the Cold War, it became the largest of the U.S. intelligence organizations in terms of pers ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Shadow Brokers
The Shadow Brokers (TSB) is a hacker group who first appeared in the summer of 2016. They published several leaks containing hacking tools, including several zero-day exploits, from the "Equation Group" who are widely suspected to be a branch of the National Security Agency (NSA) of the United States. Specifically, these exploits and vulnerabilities targeted enterprise firewalls, antivirus software, and Microsoft products. The Shadow Brokers originally attributed the leaks to the Equation Group threat actor, who have been tied to the NSA's Tailored Access Operations unit. Name and alias Several news sources noted that the group's name was likely in reference to a character from the ''Mass Effect'' video game series. Matt Suiche quoted the following description of that character: "The Shadow Broker is an individual at the head of an expansive organization which trades in information, always selling to the highest bidder. The Shadow Broker appears to be highly competent at its tr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
End-of-life (product)
An end-of-life product (EOL product) is a product at the end of the product lifecycle which prevents users from receiving updates, indicating that the product is at the end of its useful life (from the vendor's point of view). At this stage, a vendor stops the marketing, selling, or provisioning of parts, services, or software updates for the product. The vendor may simply intend to limit or end support for the product. In the specific case of product sales, a vendor may employ the more specific term "end-of-sale" ("EOS"). All users can continue to access discontinued products, but cannot receive security updates and technical support. The time-frame after the last production date depends on the product and relates to the expected product lifetime from a customer's point of view. Different lifetime examples include toys from fast food chains (weeks or months), mobile phones (3 years) and cars (10 years). Product support Product support during EOL varies by product. For hardware ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The United Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland, and many smaller islands within the British Isles. Northern Ireland shares a land border with the Republic of Ireland; otherwise, the United Kingdom is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, the North Sea, the English Channel, the Celtic Sea and the Irish Sea. The total area of the United Kingdom is , with an estimated 2020 population of more than 67 million people. The United Kingdom has evolved from a series of annexations, unions and separations of constituent countries over several hundred years. The Treaty of Union between the Kingdom of England (which included Wales, annexed in 1542) and the Kingdom of Scotland in 170 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
.svg "Click for more on -> United Kingdom")