Trump administration blames North Korea for 'WannaCry' cyber-attack

    Dec. 19, 2017
    More than 150 countries were affected by the ransomware infection earlier this year

    Source dpa, Hamburg, Germany (Tribune News Service)

    (Alex Milan Tracy/Sipa USA/TNS)
    A map compiled by British company Malware Tech displays the geographical distribution of the WannaCry ransomware cyber-attack over the past 24 hours on May 12, 2017, as seen on a computer screen in Portland Ore.
    A map compiled by British company Malware Tech displays the geographical distribution of the WannaCry ransomware cyber-attack over the past 24 hours on May 12, 2017, as seen on a computer screen in Portland Ore.

    Washington (dpa) - The Trump administration has blamed a massive global cyberattack that affected 150 countries in May on North Korea.

    "After careful investigation, the U.S. today publicly attributes the massive 'WannaCry' cyberattack to North Korea," White House Homeland Security Adviser Tom Bossert wrote in an opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal newspaper Tuesday.

    "We do not make this allegation lightly. It is based on evidence. We are not alone with our findings, either. Other governments and private companies agree," Bossert added.

    More than 150 countries were affected by the WannaCry attack in mid-May which exploited vulnerabilities in Microsoft Windows, the most widely used operating system in the world.

    "North Korea has acted especially badly, largely unchecked, for more than a decade, and its malicious behavior is growing more egregious. WannaCry was indiscriminately reckless," Bossert said further.

    Malicious hackers belong in prison, and totalitarian governments should pay a price for their actions, Bossert asserted.

    "The rest of us must redouble our efforts to improve our collective defences," he wrote

    Bossert did not outline the government's specific plans to deal with cyber-attacks, but officials in Washington said he was expected to do so later Tuesday.

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