US Declares North Korea Behind Devastating Global WannaCry Cyberattack

WannaCry
This undated photo released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on November 21, 2017 shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un at the Sungri Motor Complex in South Pyongan Province. / AFP PHOTO / KCNA VIA KNS / STR / South Korea OUT / REPUBLIC OF KOREA OUT ---EDITORS NOTE--- RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO/KCNA VIA KNS" - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS THIS PICTURE WAS MADE AVAILABLE BY A THIRD PARTY. AFP CAN NOT INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THE AUTHENTICITY, LOCATION, DATE AND CONTENT OF THIS IMAGE. THIS PHOTO IS DISTRIBUTED EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY AFP. / (Photo credit should read STR/AFP/Getty Images)

Ryan Pickrell on December 19, 2017

North Korea was behind the cyberattack that infected over 200,000 computers in over 150 countries this past summer, the Trump administration revealed Monday.

“After careful investigation, the U.S. today publicly attributes the massive ‘WannaCry’ cyberattack to North Korea,” Thomas Bossert, the president’s homeland security adviser, wrote in a Wall Street Journal op-ed Monday evening. “The attack was widespread and cost billions, and North Korea is directly responsible

“We do not make this allegation lightly. It is based on evidence. We are not alone with our findings, either,” he explained.

The mid-May attack infected hundreds of thousands of computers, particularly those using older Windows operating systems, with ransomware, locking computers and demanding payments of $300 in the form of Bitcoin, a kind of cryptocurrency. The cyberattack hit Europe and Asia hard, knocking one-fifth of all hospitals in the U.K. offline.

The attack on the healthcare system potentially put lives at risk.

The allegations against North Korea are not surprising, as the rogue regime has long been the primary suspect. Not long after the attack, cybersecurity experts detected links to other hacks carried out by the North, such as the Sony Pictures hack. Others were able to connect the attack to the Lazarus Group, a team of hackers with ties to North Korea.

The National Security Agency linked North Korea to the worm’s creation in June. The British government accused the North in October, and the CIA made a similar assessment the following month, according to The Washington Post.

North Korea has been developing an elite cyberwarfare division for years, as cyberattacks are cheap, asymmetric warfare options for the rogue regime.

“While I would not characterize them as the best in the world, they are among the best in the world and the best organized,” Army General Vincent Brooks, commander of U.S. Forces Korea, said of North Korea’s cyberwarfare capabilities last year.

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DCwire features investigative reporting syndicated with permission from the Daily Caller News Foundation.

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