Did you ever hear about the $170M ransomware attack that took down the world’s largest chip manufacturer, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC)?
Enter: WannaCry, Ransomware (2017)
The notorious #WannaCry #ransomware attack of May 2017 caught the attention of not just cybersecurity experts, but also those who might not have been directly impacted or kept up with #cybersecurity #news. This malicious attack sent shockwaves through the cyberworld, specifically targeting computers running #Microsoft #Windows operating system. Its widespread impact served as a wake-up call for individuals and organizations alike to prioritize their cybersecurity measures in order to safeguard against similar threats in the future.
This thing caused quite a stir with over 200,000 victims and more than 300,000 million infected computers. Needless to say, it was highly controversial. Reportedly, those sneaky hackers managed to get their hands on #EternalBlue, an exploit that was originally developed by the National Investigation Agency (NSA) for older Windows systems. This exploit had been stolen back in 2016 and then leaked by The Shadow Broker group. And guess what? They used it to carry out their dastardly attack.
Once your computer gets infected with WannaCry, it locks up your files and makes them inaccessible. You can't get to any of your precious data without paying a ransom in #Bitcoin to #decrypt everything. It's a nasty situation that no one wants to find themselves in.
In 2018, #TSMC got hit by a new variant of WannaCry that caused such a ruckus that they had no choice but shut down their $10B chip manufacturing facility in order to regain control and prevent further damage. The downtime cost them an estimated $170M according to BankInfoSecurity.
What other WannaCry ransomware stories do you know? Have you ever encountered it out in the wild or on the job?