Major Cyber Attack Sends Virtual World Into A Tizzy

A worldwide attack by hackers has left computers infected all over the world. Among the worst affected are UK, US, China, Russia, Spain, Italy, Vietnam and Taiwan.

Experts said this was a major cyber attack and that it has impacted organisations on a scale unknown till now.

The malware activity suddenly showed an upward trend from 8 am on Friday and infected several organisations quickly. Companies and parties around the world shared online screenshots of a program that locks computers and asks for a payment in Bitcoin. At least 36000 instances of ransomware are known and as many as 74 countries appear to have been affected.

Among those hit were UK’s National Health Service (NHS), Telecoms giant Telefonica, Power firm Iberdrola and utility provider Gas Natural.