Washington: (June 29, 2017): European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol) warned Wednesday that there’s not yet a “kill switch” that’s able to stop the cyberattack that has slammed businesses around the world.
The ransomware virus spread quickly beginning on Tuesday, shutting down entire computer networks and demanding users pay a ransom to get their files back.
Europol executive director Rob Wainwright said, “This is another serious ransomware attack with global impact, although the number of victims is not yet known. It is a demonstration of how cybercrime evolves at scale.”
A kill switch is a feature that would automatically stop the spread of the ransomware. During the WannaCry outbreak, a researcher accidentally stopped the spread of the worm when he created a kill switch by registering a domain contained in the malware.
One researcher created a temporary vaccine to stop the spread of ransomware on Tuesday. Cybereason’s Amit Serper said creating a file that tricks the malware into thinking it’s already infected the computer would be a temporary solution. The company also updated its security technology to automatically detect and prevent the ransomware.
The Moscow-based cybersecurity firm Group IB estimated that about 100 companies and organizations have been hit by the virus. The victims are spread around the globe and across different industries, including banking, transportation, energy and even candy. Law enforcement and cybersecurity experts agree that victims should never pay ransoms for such attacks. “Do not pay,” warned Europol on Wednesday. “You will not only be financing criminals, but it is unlikely that you will regain access to your files.”
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