The Washington Post | May 13 2017:
Computers around the world are suffering an attack from malicious software. The compromised computers have been hit by “ransomware” — software that encrypts the computer’s hard drive so that all the information on it is unavailable, and refuses to release it until a ransom is paid in Bitcoin, an online currency that is difficult to trace.
Ransomware attacks have happened before. What is unusual is how quickly this attack is compromising large numbers of critical computers. It has been so successful because it has made use of a so-called “zero-day exploit” — a previously unknown flaw in Windows software that makes it easy to take control of vulnerable systems.
The complicating factor for the NSA is that it is not only supposed to hack into the computers of interesting foreigners — it is supposed to protect the computers of U.S. citizens and firms from outside attacks.
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