Wannacry Ransomware

A British cybersecurity expert who admitted writing and selling malware was spared prison Friday by a judge who said the misconduct was outweighed by his help in stopping a worldwide computer virus in 2017.

Marcus Hutchins said, "I've pleaded guilty to two charges related to writing malware in the years prior to my career in security."

The North Korean Foreign Affairs Ministry has claimed that a hacker allegedly responsible for debilitating cyber attacks against Sony and the global WannaCry ransomware outbreak does not exist, media reported.

The WannaCry ransomware attack infected hundreds of thousands of computers worldwide and crippled parts of Britain's National Health Service in May.

North Korea on Thursday denied US accusations it was behind the WannaCry global ransomware cyberattack, saying Washington was demonising it.

"Facebook took down accounts that stopped the operational execution of ongoing cyber-attacks and Microsoft acted to patch existing attacks, not just the WannaCry attack initially."

Britain said North Korea was behind the 'WannaCry" cyber attack that infected computers around the globe earlier this year on Tuesday, joining the United States in blaming Pyongyang for the ransomware incident.

"The attack was widespread and cost billions, and North Korea is directly responsible," wrote Tom Bossert, homeland security adviser to President Donald Trump.

North Korea is "directly responsible" for the so-called WannaCry cyber attack that crippled hospitals, banks and other companies across the globe earlier this year, a senior White House official said on Monday.

India is among the top seven countries for ransomware circulation as cyber-attacks have increased this year globally, says Sophos.

North Korea has slammed Britain for accusing it of being behind a global ransomware attack that hit the National Health Service.

Cyber attacks using malware called "BadRabbit" hit Russia and other nations on Tuesday, affecting Russian Interfax news agency and causing flight delays at Ukraine's Odessa airport.

"Meeting hackers' demands will not necessarily guarantee compliance from the hackers. In many cases, the likelihood of receiving decryption keys is almost nil."

"India has well-trained, well-educated and capable IT people. The country has got access to all the tools it needs to secure its systems. Yet, in the case of a big cyber attack, India is still unprepared."

"The last year has been exceptional, given the size and the type and the range of the attacks that we've seen," Europol director Rob Wainwright said.

A British cybersecurity expert who admitted writing and selling malware was spared prison Friday by a judge who said the misconduct was outweighed by his help in stopping a worldwide computer virus in 2017.

Marcus Hutchins said, "I've pleaded guilty to two charges related to writing malware in the years prior to my career in security."

The North Korean Foreign Affairs Ministry has claimed that a hacker allegedly responsible for debilitating cyber attacks against Sony and the global WannaCry ransomware outbreak does not exist, media reported.

The WannaCry ransomware attack infected hundreds of thousands of computers worldwide and crippled parts of Britain's National Health Service in May.

North Korea on Thursday denied US accusations it was behind the WannaCry global ransomware cyberattack, saying Washington was demonising it.

"Facebook took down accounts that stopped the operational execution of ongoing cyber-attacks and Microsoft acted to patch existing attacks, not just the WannaCry attack initially."

Britain said North Korea was behind the 'WannaCry" cyber attack that infected computers around the globe earlier this year on Tuesday, joining the United States in blaming Pyongyang for the ransomware incident.

"The attack was widespread and cost billions, and North Korea is directly responsible," wrote Tom Bossert, homeland security adviser to President Donald Trump.

North Korea is "directly responsible" for the so-called WannaCry cyber attack that crippled hospitals, banks and other companies across the globe earlier this year, a senior White House official said on Monday.

India is among the top seven countries for ransomware circulation as cyber-attacks have increased this year globally, says Sophos.

North Korea has slammed Britain for accusing it of being behind a global ransomware attack that hit the National Health Service.

Cyber attacks using malware called "BadRabbit" hit Russia and other nations on Tuesday, affecting Russian Interfax news agency and causing flight delays at Ukraine's Odessa airport.

"Meeting hackers' demands will not necessarily guarantee compliance from the hackers. In many cases, the likelihood of receiving decryption keys is almost nil."

"India has well-trained, well-educated and capable IT people. The country has got access to all the tools it needs to secure its systems. Yet, in the case of a big cyber attack, India is still unprepared."

"The last year has been exceptional, given the size and the type and the range of the attacks that we've seen," Europol director Rob Wainwright said.