IN THE NEWS
White House officially blames North Korea for massive 'WannaCry' cyberattack
By Eli Watkins, CNN
December 19, 2017
(CNN)White House homeland security adviser Tom Bossert said Monday the United States believes North Korea was behind the "WannaCry" cyberattack earlier this year.
"After careful investigation, the US today publicly attributes the massive 'WannaCry' cyberattack to North Korea," Bossert wrote in a Wall Street Journal op-ed.
He continued: "The attack was widespread and cost billions, and North Korea is directly responsible."
The US has evidence for the claim, and the United Kingdom and Microsoft reached similar conclusions in their analyses of the attack, which plagued computers the world over in May, he wrote.
The UK's Foreign Office attributed the attack to "North Korean actors the Lazarus Group."
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Scary ransomware attacks famous North Carolina county
By James Rogers, Fox News
December 6, 2017
(FNC)A major ransomware attack has forced the shutdown of a host of IT systems at Mecklenburg County, North Carolina.
Officials confirmed late Wednesday that they will not pay the ransom to unlock many of the county's applications that have been frozen since Monday.
“I am confident that our backup data is secure and we have the resources to fix this situation ourselves,” said County Manager Dena Diorio, in a statement. “It will take time, but with patience and hard work, all of our systems will be back up and running as soon as possible.”
Attackers gave a deadline of 1 p.m. ET Wednesday for payment of the ransom, according to news reports.
The hackers have demanded for the payment in bitcoin. One bitcoin is worth approximately $13,000.
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