A new large-scale Cyber Attack that might affect hundreds of thousands of Computers around the world is on its way, according to AFP. Cyber security experts said the purpose of this attack is to create and recover a virtual currency for hackers. This happens without the owners of infected computers noticing anything. After the ransomware outbreak from last Friday called "WannaCry", researchers at the Proofpoint security company have discovered a new cyber attack related to "WannaCry" called "Adylkuzz". This attack uses the piracy tools recently revealed by the NSA (National Security Agency), but also targets Microsoft's current vulnerability in a different and more discreet way.
Hundreds of thousands of computers affected
Robert Holmes, vice president of product at Proofpoint, declared to AFP that the magnitude of the damage is yet to be known, but hundreds of thousands of computers could have been infected. This type of malware is introduced into vulnerable computers due to the same vulnerability in Windows used by WannaCry. The security experts claim that unknown hackers have taken advantage of some tools stolen from the NSA, because some part of the agency's sophisticated cyber arsenals could be found on the Internet in recent months. The malware invisibly creates units of an undetectable coin, called Monero, which is comparable to Bitcoin. The data that allow the use of these earnings are extracted and sent to encrypted addresses.
A more profitable cyber attack
The experts say the "Adylkuzz" virus is more profitable for the hackers, although it's quieter and it doesn't require the user interface, as it turns infected computers into sources of funding for digital pirates. The company says they have spotted computers that have paid the equivalent of several thousand dollars, with the main user being completely unaware of the whole process.
According to Robert Holmes, this kind of cyber attacks have happened before, but never of this magnitude. One of the visible symptoms of infected computer is they start working slowly. The company Proofpoint added that this new attack, that could have been started by May 2 or even April 24, is underway.
'WannaCry' affected many computers around the world
The attack called ''WannaCry '' is an unprecedented worldwide scale ransomware outbreak, which has affected tens of thousands of computers in homes, businesses, and government agencies. The hackers infiltrated malicious programs into a lot of computers. This malware then encrypted and blocked the access to the content, until the users were willing to pay between $300 and $600 in virtual currency to get back the control over their files. So far, about 150 countries appear to have been affected.
