Do you know what WannaCry is? If so, are you aware of the measures you need to take in order to protect your computer? This post contains insights into the WannaCry attack and what steps you should take to protect your computer from being infected.

Ransomware continues to be one of the biggest menaces on the internet. For more than two years from the initial outbreak about WannaCry ransomware to infect PCs, it continues to infect victims. Moreover, the problem is that a few of the victims have continued to make payment for the ransom. They’re making futile efforts to retrieve their stored encrypted data.

WannaCry: Two Years Ago

WannaCry ransomware had initially spread in May 2017 and it quickly created adverse effects across the world by encrypting various computer networks and preventing/interrupting services. The ransomware also included a few high-profile targets including the NHS i.e. The National Health Service of the United Kingdom.

The disruption of the initial campaign took place when various security researchers succeeded to activate the Killswitch of WannaCry. This means the ransomware stopped causing any type of damage itself for most of its parts. In another way, ransomware attempted to spread itself with the help of a worm type of NSA cyberweapon i.e. Eternal Blue, which seemed to be an opportunity for cybercriminals after hackers leaked WannaCry.

WannaCry: The Present

Even after two years after the attack, which was attributed to the North Korean region, many people continue to suffer from WannaCry infection in their PCs and paying for the ransom demands.

When WannaCry hits for the first time, paying for the ransom fails to resolve anything. Instead, the ransomware continues to stay active and keeps infecting victims occasionally, while demanding for ransom in some cases.

Payment of Ransoms

The victims are continuing to pay for the attack because of the close association of bitcoin accounts with the attack, which is now active and the payments are anonymous. Besides, you will find WannaCry ransomware related transactions as open in front of the public, because of which one can observe each of the made payments easily.

Even though you might find a few numbers of people paying up, the payments highlighted that WannaCry is consistently creating problems for its users, while these users are unaware of global ransomware. Besides, PC users failed to get their affected files back even when they paid for the ransomware.

The data also highlights that there are large numbers of users, who until now failed to patch their systems against the vulnerability of Eternal Blue even though they experienced the WannaCry attack. This fact has not only created a huge risk of falling victim to wanna cry ransomware, but also at several other risks related to different attacks. These include Trojan malware campaigns or crypto-jacking, which have adopted the vulnerability of Eternal Blue for easy spread.

How to Protect Your System from WannaCry?

Never click on a link that you do not trust.

Be aware of a fake website that uses names similar to popular services.

Use antivirus and always make the last updates.

Make sure your Windows has the last update.

Disable file sharing support.

Keep your files backed up regularly.

Alternatively, you can also contact experts at G’SecureLabs, who will help you to identify, investigate, and respond immediately to minimize the data theft risks.