The U.S. government has openly announced that they are blaming North Korea for WannaCry, the destructive ransomware that affected over 200,000 businesses across 35 countries this past spring.
According to the New York Times, Homeland Security Advisor Thomas Bossert was the first to publicly scrutinize the North Korean regime for the ransomware attack that took down parts of UK’s National Health Service among other targets.
Bossert went on to say “it encrypted and rendered useless hundreds of thousands of computers in hospitals, schools, businesses and homes. While victims received ransom demands, paying did not unlock their computers. It was cowardly, costly and careless. The attack was widespread and cost billions, and North Korea is directly responsible.”
According to multiple sources, North Korea is suspected of using cyber tools and weapons that were stolen from the United States National Security Agency after connecting dots between the tactics used in WannaCry and the Sony hack in 2014.
In addition to this attack, the U.S. government is also investigating recent allegations surrounding the Russian government’s involvement with this past year’s presidential election. With the help of Twitter and Facebook, Congress and the House of Representatives has been given the evidence needed to help bridge the gap between speculation and fact.
There doesn’t seem to be an industry, company, or country that hackers deem too superior to attack, which begs the question, who’s in your computer?
If you’re interested in learning more about our industry leading policy form and how it can respond in the event of an attack, contact us.
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