Ransomware attack again thrusts US spy agency into unwanted spotlight


  • TECH
  • Tuesday, 16 May 2017

A file photo of the NSA headquarters building in Fort Meade, Maryland. Some other technology industry executives said privately that it reflected a widely held view in Silicon Valley that the US government is too willing to jeopardise Internet security in order to preserve offensive cyber capabilities.

WASHINGTON: An unprecedented global cyberattack that infected computers in at least 150 countries beginning May 12 has unleashed a new wave of criticism of the US National Security Agency. 

The attack was made possible by a flaw in Microsoft's Windows software that the NSA used to build a hacking tool for its own use – only to have that tool and others end up in the hands of a mysterious group called the Shadow Brokers, which then published them online. 

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