The NHS cyberattack that hit hospitals across the UK is said to have been part of the biggest ransomware outbreak in history, according to Mikko Hypponen from F-Secure, and it could ramp up again this week as people return to work.
Hypponen said the Wanna Decryptor attack was unprecedented, while cyber security expert Varun Badwhar said it gave a glimpse of what a “cyber-apocalypse” would look like.
“We’ve never seen something spread this quickly in a 24-hour period across this many countries and continents,” explained Badwhar. “So it’s definitely one of those things we’ve always heard about that could happen and now we’re seeing it play out.”
The NHS hack was said to be “creeping” across the UK over the weekend with reports of the ransomware attack hitting a range of other organisations in as many as 99 countries. It then appeared to start slowing down on Saturday after a security researcher says he “accidentally” hit the kill switch on the ransomware.