NEWS 2

CYBER-ATTACK: EUROPOL SAYS IT WAS UNPRECEDENTED IN SCALE

SUMMARY

A cyber-attack that hit organisations worldwide including the UK's National Health Service was "unprecedented", Europe's police agency says.

A huge cyber attack has hit computer systems in dozens of countries. The virus called ransomware, affects, among others, the equipment of Telefónica headquarters in Madrid, the British health system or the Russian Interior Ministry.

After installing on the computer, that virus blocks access to the files of the affected computer asking for a rescue to allow access, and can infect other vulnerable computers in the network.

This type of virus appears to be harmless and imitates other applications, is the most common and accounts for 72.75% of malware, malicious attacks, according to the latest reports from companies Kaspersky Lab and PandaLab.

According to Eusebio Nieva, technical director of Check Point in Spain and Portugal, ransomware is the strategy most used to attack large companies. "The hackers ask that the rescue be made through a digital payment that can not be traced," said Nieva.

The expert pointed out that the payment of a ransom is not a guarantee that the information encrypted by the virus can be recovered: "The possibility is between 30% and 40%." It also warns that traditional antivirus programs are no longer enough. The most pointers of protection, according to Nieva, are the anti-APP or sandbouxing programs, which track the behavior of the system or the information network, identify any malicious software and eliminate it. Sandboxing is the one that works best. When a document arrives in the mail, for example, the system opens in a virtual environment and detects something suspicious, deletes it before it reaches the user, "explains the expert.

VOCABULARY

Harmless: inofensivo
Imitates: Imita
Guarantee: garantía
Environment: ambiente

OPINION

What surprises me and I worry is that there are large companies that handle personal data and use Windows as an operating system. Windows is an operating system full of holes, very unsafe. Among the three operating systems that dominate the market (Windows, Linux, MacOS).

They offer us privacy but in reality we do not have it, each time, internet is less reliable.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-39907965