The Washington Post | By Amanda Erickson | May 12 2017:
Worldwide hack exploits flaw identified in leaked NSA document.
A massive cyberattack hit tens of thousands of computers in dozens of nations. It was first reported in England — hackers gained access to the National Health Service computers, effectively shuttering the entire system. Patients were told to stay home; doctors and nurses were unable to access email or medical records and had to take notes by hand. The hackers demanded a ransom, to be paid in bitcoin.
By Friday afternoon, though, it was clear that this was not a limited attack. Businesses in at least 11 other countries reported similar cyberattacks. Many were paralyzed.
As its name implies, ransomware works like a hostage-taker.
Once your computer is infected, the attack can do a couple of things. One common approach: Your files will be encrypted or converted into a different language for which only the hacker has the cipher. Often, you won’t even know you’ve been targeted until you try to open a file.
Another, more damaging version is what happened Friday: The ransomware locks you out of your entire system.
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