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‘Ransomware’ cyber assault slows as focus turns to catching the hackers who unleashed it

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A screenshot shows a WannaCry ransomware demand, provided by cyber security firm Symantec, in Mountain View, California. The pace of attacks seem to be slowing down. Photo: Symantec handout via Reuters

The global WannaCry “ransomware” cyber attack slowed on Monday, with no major infections reported, as global law enforcement agencies shifted their attention to finding the hackers who unleashed it.

The attack infected 300,000 machines in 150 countries, said Tom Bossert, US President Donald Trump’s homeland security adviser. That would make it one of the fastest-spreading campaigns in history.

The US government is investigating whether the attack was launched by cyber criminals or a foreign nation state, Bossert said, noting that the perpetrators had raised less than US$70,000 from users looking to regain access to their computers.

Homeland Security Advisor Tom Bossert discusses the US government's response to the ransomware 'WannaCry' cyber attack during a news briefing in Washington, DC. Photo: EPA
Homeland Security Advisor Tom Bossert discusses the US government's response to the ransomware 'WannaCry' cyber attack during a news briefing in Washington, DC. Photo: EPA

“We are not aware if payments have led to any data recovery,” Bossert said, adding that no federal government systems had been affected.

Private cyber security experts said they were not sure if the motive of the attack was primarily to make money, noting that most large ransomware and other types of cyber extortion campaigns pull in millions of dollars of revenue.

“I believe that this was spread for the purpose of causing as much damage as possible,” said Matthew Hickey, co-founder of British cyber consulting firm Hacker House.

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