Holy MacGyver.. It doesn’t take large sums of money or endless resources to save the World – PB/TK
The hero who accidentally stopped the cyberattack from spreading – / May 14 2017
An anonymous malware researcher inadvertently helped stop the spread of a global cyberattack that hit at least 150 countries.
The 22-year-old researcher, who goes by the name MalwareTech, has become an internet hero for their efforts to stem the spread of the WannaCry ransomware. MalwareTech, who is based in the U.K., did not disclose their identity or gender to CNN. MalwareTech published a blog post early Saturday morning detailing how they stopped the spread of this ransomware.
The ransomware took control of computers around the world and required owners to pay hundreds of dollars to get their files back. It took advantage of a Windows vulnerability leaked in April and the hacking tool is believed to belong to the NSA.
MalwareTech found an unregistered domain name in the ransomware and bought it for $10.69. Then, they pointed the domain to a sinkhole, or a server that collects and analyzes malware traffic. What they didn’t realize was that the domain — a random assortment of letters — was actually a kill switch, a way for someone to take control of the ransomware.
While the researcher is being lauded online for helping to prevent a more widespread outbreak, MalwareTech doesn’t consider themselves a hero.
Continue to money.cnn.com article: http://money.cnn.com/2017/05/13/technology/hero-ransomware-malwaretech-cyberattack/index.html
