Ukraine Cyber Attack Spreads Globally

A NEW CYBER ATTACK HIT UKRAINE, AND HAS NOW UNFORTUNATELY SPREAD
INTERNATIONALLY, DISABLING CERTAIN BUSINESSES, AND MAKING
IT INCREDIBLY DIFFICULT FOR SOME INDIVIDUALS TO EVEN ACCESS THEIR
OWN MONEY AT ATMS.
NOW, IF YOU CAN REMEMBER, EARLIER THIS YEAR THERE WAS AN
ATTACK THAT WAS KNOWN TO EVERYONE AS THE WANNACRY
ATTACKS, RIGHT.
AND SO, INDIVIDUALS, WE'RE UNSURE WHO THESE PEOPLE INCLUDE,
ESSENTIALLY HAVE TO DO WITH COMPUTERS, AND THEN THROUGH
RANSOMWARE WERE ABLE TO CONVINCE SOME INDIVIDUALS TO PAY UP
TO RE-ACCESS THEIR DATA.
SOMETHING SIMILAR IS HAPPENING NOW, IT'S A SERIES OF ATTACKS
MAKING USE OF THE DOZENS OF HACKING TOOLS THAT WERE STOLEN
FROM THE NATIONAL SECURITY AGENCY, AND LEAKED ONLINE IN
APRIL BY A GROUP CALLED THE SHADOW BROKERS.
WHAT'S CRAZY ABOUT THIS IS, YEAH, THEY USED METHODS THAT
WERE USED BY THE NSA, AND AS SOON AS THOSE METHODS WERE
MADE PUBLIC, OR LEAKED TO THE PUBLIC, HACKERS STARTED
USING THEM FOR THEIR OWN PERSONAL GAIN.
SO, LIKE THE WANNACRY ATTACKS IN MAY, THE LATEST GLOBAL HACKING
TOOK CONTROL OF COMPUTERS AND DEMANDED DIGITAL RANSOM FROM
THEIR OWNERS TO REGAIN ACCESS.
THIS AFFECT ñ THIS IMPACTED A NUMBER OF THINGS, INCLUDING
ATMS, POSTAL SERVICES, AND ALSO RAILWAY COMPANIES.
HERE IS A QUICK REPORT OUTLINING MORE OF THE DAMAGE THAT HAS
BEEN DONE SO FAR.
AMONG TODAY'S TARGETS, FROM POLITICAL MAKER MERC, THE
WORLD'S LARGEST SHIPPING COMPANY --
WE HAVE TO REMEMBER THAT ORGANIZED CYBERCRIME TOTALS UP
TO OVER $400 BILLION ON AN ANNUAL BASIS.
SECURITY EXPERTS SAY THAT THIS ATTACK IS SIMILAR TO LAST
MONTH'S WANNACRY ATTACK, IT WAS BASED ON HACKING METHODS
USED BY THE NSA THAT WERE RELEASED BY HACKERS.
SO, THEY HOLD FOR RANSOM AND THEY ASK FOR BITCOINS, AND IT'S
KIND OF INCREDIBLE BECAUSE IN SOME CASES THEY ASK FOR AS
LITTLE AS $300 IN BITCOIN.
IT'S NOT INCREDIBLE, AND WILL LEAD TO TWO OF MY THREE
THEORIES AS TO WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED.
PEOPLE ARE WONDERING, IS THIS ñ
IS IT RELEVANT THAT IT WAS
UKRAINE THAT WAS ATTACKED, BUT IT WAS RIGHT AROUND THEIR
INDEPENDENCE DAY FROM THE SOVIET UNION.
THAT'S NOT AN OPEN QUESTION.
OF COURSE IT IS POLITICAL.
THERE ARE ONE OF TWO OPTIONS HERE, EITHER THE RUSSIANS DID IT
AGAINST UKRAINE, OR SOMEONE WANTED YOU TO THINK THE RUSSIANS
DIDN'T, BUT IT IS NOT ñ THERE IS NOT A COINCIDENCE LARGE ENOUGH
WHERE PETYA ATTACKS THE UKRAINE AROUND THEIR INDEPENDENCE ñ
AROUND THIS ELEVATION OF THEIR INDEPENDENCE FROM THE UKRAINE.
BUT AGAIN, THAT DOESN'T MEAN IT IS THE RUSSIANS, IT COULD BE
SOMEONE TRYING TO THROW YOU OFFICE SCENT BY PRETENDING TO BE
RUSSIAN, AND A LOT OF RUSSIAN COMPANIES GOT HIT,
INCLUDING THEIR LARGEST ENERGY COMPANY.
I DON'T KNOW WHO IT IS, AND ANY COMMENTARY ON WHO IT IS IS
SPECULATION; HOWEVER, I THINK IT WOULD BE INCREDIBLY DUMB FOR THE
RUSSIANS TO CALL THIS PETYA, ATTACK UKRAINE FIRST ñ
LIKE, IT COULD JUST BE A WAY OF ATTEMPTING TO FRAME THE
RUSSIANS.
THAT'S WHAT I'M SAYING, AND OF COURSE I DON'T KNOW WHICH OF
THOSE TWO IT IS, BUT IT IS ONE OF THOSE TWO, WHICH LEADS TO THE
NEXT PART, WHEN YOU MENTIONED THE BITCOINS RANSOM.
THEY ARE ASKING FOR TOO LITTLE AMOUNT OF MONEY.
THEY ARE GETTING LIKE, A NICKEL AND A DIME.
LAST TIME WHEN THEY DID WANNACRY IT WASN'T THAT BIG OF A HIT.
IN TERMS OF HOW MUCH MONEY THEY GOT IT WAS VERY LITTLE.
IT SEEMS LIKE, YOU DO A HIT ON SOMEONE AND YOU GO, OKAY WE
DON'T WANT THIS TO LOOK LIKE A POLITICAL HIT, SO LET'S
TAKE HIS WALLET, SO THEY CALL IT A ROBBERY.
YOU SEE WHAT I'M SAYING?
BOTH OF THEM HAVE THE FEEL OF SOMETHING WHERE THEY ARE BUT ñ
WHERE THEY ARE JUST BETA TESTING.
THE FIRST ONE WAS THE ALPHA, THE SECOND WAS THE BETA, WHAT'S
COMING NEXT?
RIGHT?
RIGHT, AND I THINK WHAT CONCERNS ME MOST IS, LOOK, THIS SOUNDS
LIKE AN INCREDIBLY SOPHISTICATED CYBER ATTACK, BUT REALLY IT
COMES DOWN TO PHISHING, WHICH HAS HAPPENED PRIOR TO THE NSA'S
STRATEGIES BEING LEADS TO THE PUBLIC, AND IT'S JUST SO EASY
FOR ANY COMPANY TO BE TARGETED, AND ALSO FALL VICTIM TO THIS
METHOD, BECAUSE THERE HAS TO BE AT LEAST ONE PERSON WITHIN THAT
COMPANY WHO, UNFORTUNATELY, WILL CLICK ON THE LINK IN THAT
PHISHING EMAIL, AND THAT WILL COMPROMISE THE SERVERS.
SOMEONE WILL OPEN A QUESTIONABLE EMAIL ñ AND BY THE WAY, THE ONUS
IS NOT ON EMPLOYEES AT COMPANIES TO ACT A CERTAIN WAY, THE ONUS
IS ON CYBER SECURITY FIRMS, AND TO SOME EXTENT GOVERNMENTS,
TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY HAVE CERTAIN SAFEGUARDS IN
PLACE, TO PREVENT THINGS LIKE THIS FROM HAPPENING.
AND OF COURSE, MAKE SURE THAT YOU UPDATE YOUR SOFTWARE, THERE
ARE SOFTWARE ADOPT ñ THERE ARE SOFTWARE UPDATES AVAILABLE
FOR WINDOWS, AND ALSO APPLE PRODUCTS.
YOU HAVE DISLIKED, SMIRK ON YOUR FACE THAT IS THROWING ME
OFF RIGHT NOW.
YES, I'M SORRY, BECAUSE I HAVEN'T EVEN GOTTEN TO MY
SPECULATION.
SO, THOSE FIRST TWO PIECES I THINK ARE FAIRLY CLEAR, NOW
LET'S GET INTO FUN SPECULATION.
AS I WAS READING THE STORY I WAS LIKE, WHAT IF THERE'S SOMETHING
WRONG WITH THE SOFTWARE USED IT TO FIX ALL THIS?
AND THEY ALREADY KNOW IT, SO THEY DO ONE ATTACK AND EVERYBODY
RUSHES, EVERYBODY USED THE SOFTWARE TO FIX IT.
THEY DO A SECOND ATTACK, EVERYBODY USES THE SOFTWARE
TO FIX IT, AND THEN THEY UNLEASH THE VIRUS IN THE SOFTWARE.
OKAY, I HAVE NO IDEA.
YEAH, YOU DON'T.
THIS IS ALMOST AS PAINFUL AS HEARING YOU TALK ABOUT
EVOLUTION.
LISTEN, ALL I KNOW IS, THIS ISN'T THE REAL DEAL, THERE
IS A RED WEDDING IN OUR NEAR FUTURE.
BECAUSE IT SHOWS YOU WHAT THEY CAN DO, BUT YET THEY HAVE NOT
UNLEASHED IT IN A PANDEMONIUM WAY THAT THEY COULD, AFFECTING
EVERYONE.
AND PETYA, BY THE WAY, DOES NOT HAVE A KILL SWITCH,
WANNACRY HAD A KILL SWITCH, SO ANOTHER KILL SWITCH IS
GONE, AND THIS THING COULD BE TOTALLY OUT OF CONTROL, BUT
WE DON'T KNOW WHAT THEIR OBJECTIVE IS.
OKAY, NOW, LAST PIECE OF ñ OKAY, AGAIN, THIS IS IN THE BUCKET OF
SPECULATION, AS BUSH SAID, THIS IS SPECULATION, WHAT IF IT'S THE
NSA?
WHAT?
SO, THE NSA STUFF GOT STOLEN, WHICH, THANKS A LOT NSA, WE
APPRECIATE IT.
BUT YOU MIGHT CALL SOMETHING PETYA, AND DO AN ATTACK AGAINST
UKRAINE, AND A BUNCH OF OTHER COMPANIES WHILE YOU GO AND HIT A
RUSSIAN ENERGY COMPANY AND SOME OTHER COMPANIES THAT YOU
NEEDED TO GET INFORMATION FROM, WHILE PERTAINING TO HOLD
EVERYONE UP FOR RANSOM.
IN OTHER WORDS, WE HAVE NO IDEA WHO DID THIS.
YEAH, WE DON'T, SO WE WILL SEE HOW IT PLAYS OUT, BUT IN
THE MEANTIME, PLEASE SAVE ALL OF YOUR IMPORTANT DATA ONTO A
HARD DRIVE, SEPARATE FROM, YOU KNOW, YOUR COMPUTER'S HARD
DRIVE, OBVIOUSLY, THAT WAY NO ONE CAN HOLD YOUR
INFORMATION FOR RANSOM.
BY THE WAY, IT'S OBVIOUSLY A LOT MORE DIFFERENT IF YOU WORK AT A
COMPANY, BUT ANY KINDS OF SENSITIVE DATA ñ I MEAN, I WOULD
EVEN DELETE IT FROM MY EMAIL.
JUST PROTECT YOURSELF AS MUCH AS YOU POSSIBLY CAN.
AND I WOULD ADD, DUN DUN DUN DUN DUN DUN DUN-UHHHH.
IT'S SOON NOT GOING TO BE FUNNY, SO THIS IS MY LAST CHANCE
TO JOKE AROUND.
IT'S NOT FUNNY NOW.
IT HAS ALREADY IMPACTED HOSPITALS, SO THAT'S A DISASTER.
THEY ARE UNABLE TO DO PROCEDURES THAT THEY NEED TO DO
BECAUSE THEIR SYSTEMS HAVE BEEN COMPROMISED.
BUT ON THE OTHER HAND, THEY CAN'T READ ñ
THEY CAN'T MEASURE THE RADIATION COMING OUT OF TURN NOBLE.

Ukraine Cyber Attack Spreads Globally

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