WannaCry

After WannaCry, Fireball malware infects 250 million computers

Security firm Check Point Threat Intelligence discovered this high volume threat which has infected more than 250 million computers worldwide.

Originating from China, this malware has two main powers. It can run any malicious code on the victim’s computer. It can also hijack and manipulate infected users’ traffic to generate fraudulent ad revenue. The most infected countries are India (10.1%) and Brazil (9.6%).

WannaCry: What can you do to protect your business?

But how easily could it have been avoided and how can firms protect themselves against future attacks?

On the face of it, the accepted narrative seems simple. Microsoft issued a patch, or update, for the vulnerability in its older Windows operating systems in March.

If all IT departments everywhere had implemented this patch immediately, the WannaCry ransomware worm wouldn't have been able to run riot across the globe.