A laptop displays a message after being infected by a ransomware as part of a worldwide cyberattack on June 27, 2017 in Geldrop. The unprecedented global ransomware cyberattack has hit more than 200,000 victims in more than 150 countries, Europol executive director Rob Wainwright said May 14, 2017. Britain's state-run National Health Service was affected by the attack. / AFP PHOTO / ANP / Rob Engelaar / Netherlands OUT
A recent outbreak of ransomware attacks, from the WannaCry worm in May to the June 27 infection of thousands of computer systems around the globe, shows that digital stickups are becoming the go-to hack for cybercriminals, fuelled by powerful leaked US government exploits and the rise of bitcoin and other anonymous digital currencies.
Tuesday’s attack showed no signs of slowing down, as cybersecurity researchers had not found a kill switch similar to the one that allowed them to stop WannaCry after it had infected hundreds of thousands of computer in more than 150 countries, preventing it from becoming one of the worst attacks on record.
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