Symantec says ‘highly likely’ North Korea group behind ransomware attacks

A lock screen from a cyber attack warns that data files have been encrypted on a laptop computer in this arranged photo in London, U.K., on Monday, May 15, 2017. Governments and companies around the world began to gain the upper hand against the first wave of an unrivaled global cyberattack, even as the assault was poised to continue claiming victims this week. Photographer: Simon Dawson/Bloomberg

SAN FRANCISCO: Cybersecurity firm Symantec Corp said on May 22 it was "highly likely" a hacking group affiliated with North Korea was behind the WannaCry cyberattack this month that infected more than 300,000 computers worldwide and disrupted hospitals, banks and schools across the globe. 

Symantec researchers said they had found multiple instances of code that had been used both in the North Korea-linked group's previous activity and in early versions of WannaCry.