If you haven’t been paying attention to the news today, a large scale cyber attack happened in the UK. The affected party was the National Health Service, which has ultimately ended up leaving large amount of Hospitals unable to use any of their programs of software. This includes diagnostic work like blood tests, urinalysis, CT scans, ect and will most likely lead to a few deaths due to a lack of response.
In reality the cyber attack was most likely caused by a technical executive who carelessly ran a file that ended up hitting all the computers on the system. Not only does this event show the extreme importance of good security practices, but it shows how powerful crypto and specifically cryptolocker malware can be.
I don’t know if the hospital was particularly targeted in this attack , or they just happened to open a file on the internet that contained the malware, but needless to say, shutting down multiple hospitals is terrible and I hope whoever designed the malware is held responsible.
Unfortunately I don’t think that will ever happen. In recent months we have been seeing more and more people getting cryptolockered and really the only solution is reformat or pay up. Because of how cryptographically strong currencies like bitcoin are, as long as someone doesn’t use a chokepoint that might identify them (an exchange, payment processor, ect) They will most likely never be caught.
Despite what happened today being a terrible strategy, there is something to say in the idea that a single person can shut down thousands of computers for ransom from anywhere in the world and there is nothing the hospitals or government can do about it. There is no bruteforce machine to undo it, no bank that can cancel the transaction, nothing. All you can do is pay or if the coder shows mercy and has a kill switch somewhere in the code, activate that, which is very unlikely as many of the people coding these types of malware see this as hitting the jackpot.
So in the future when you see more big stories like this one which I guarantee you will, just remember this is proof of a working system. This is proof that as long as people want to use crypto, it will be there for them , uncrackable, unbreakable and absolute.
I just heard news about this on CBC a while ago. Great to get the extra info with this post. Thanks a bunch and namaste :)
PRIVACY of how you spend or receive payment is a right. That right can be used for either good or evil, much like a firearm. Society would be severely censored/restricted if everything everyone bought, or received payment for, was transparent to all. An alternative, private payment system would quickly be created and adopted. This is just an example of someone using anonymity for a malicious purpose. Could it be a FALSE FLAG, conducted by those who are threatened (central banks) by a free/anonymous transfer of value that sets humanity free of their control (Bitcoin)? If the MAINSTREAM MEDIA begins to demonize Bitcoin as something only criminals use, because it provides anonymity, then I may think so. That is all they (the powers that be) need, in order to demand GOVERNMENTS CREATE LEGISLATION to outlaw Bitcoin, in order to protect the people. This will be shown with plenty of dramatic images of people in the affected hospitals SUFFERING because criminals need their currency of choice, BITCOIN. Propaganda to subliminally program people to equate Bitcoin with crime/death/terrorism? It is just a thought. Great post.
What would be the purpose of causing innocent deaths?? I understand that hackers are sometimes trying to expose security flaws, but this is just sick.
We will see what happens I personally believe that this attack will be used by the governments to criminalize the use of bitcoin as a currency and they will try to regulate the use of cryptos dramatically this I think will sharply end the current rally in bitcoin then they will install their regulated crypto currancy
Could this be a false flag to create an opportunity to pass stricter "cyber-security" laws?
With so many networks infected in different countries this looks awfully like an coordinated attack of sorts. Maybe the angry hamster from North-Korea?
I'm from Indiana but in Brazil right now. Most government agencies can operate their computers right now.
Take whatever philosophical stance you want or whatever mistake someone made, if it hits healthcare people die...and there is someone responsible for those deaths. You can give them Bitcoins, but you can't return lives of innocent people.
After the Stuxnet scare I'm surprised people trust Microsoft with anything important.
Interesting perspective and observations.
Dammit, it's easy to see everything as a false flag.
This is the kind of thing that gives cryptocurrencies like bitcoin (which is the only one, most people know about) a bad name.
What would happen if cryptos become illegal? We'd all be screwed!