A huge range of organizations and companies around the world have been affected by the WannaCry ransom ware cyber-attack, described by the EU's law enforcement agency as "unprecedented".

       This unprecedented global “ransom ware” attack that hit at least 200,000 organizations in 150 countries spread to thousands more computers Monday as people returned to work and logged in for the first time since the massive online assault began.

       The WannaCry ransom ware locks computer systems and demands $300 in Bit coin. The ransom ware also known as WanaCrypt0r, WeCry, WanaCrypt or WeCrypt0r, used as vulnerability in a windows server component to spread within corporate networks.

       The first documented case of Ransom Ware appeared in 2005 in the United States, but quickly spread around the world. Microsoft fixed the flaw shortly before the stolen data was published.

       But Microsoft’s policy is that some commonly used versions of Windows no longer receive security patches; those versions include Windows XP and Windows Server 2003, both of which have not been sold for over a decade; and Windows 8, which some users prefer to the supported Windows 8.1 because of differences between the two versions of the operating system. Typically, the company only provides support to organizations which pay expensive fees for “custom support” for these out of date platforms.  

         The software is normally  contained within an attachment to an email that masquerades as 

something innocent. Once opened it encrypts the hard drive, making it impossible to access or retrieve anything stored on there – such as photographs, documents or music.

       Anti-virus software can protect the computer, although cybercriminals are constantly working on new ways to override such protection. The ransom demands varied and there is no guarantee that paying will get your data back.

       The attack that began Friday is believed to be the biggest online extortion attack ever recorded, spreading chaos by locking computers that run Britain’s hospital network, Germany’s national railway and scores of other companies, factories and government agencies worldwide.

       An analysis determined about $38,000 had already been paid to those behind the attacks, however, that figure could climb exponentially as users log on Monday and those already infected give in to rising demands.

       Steven Wilson, Head of Europol’s European Cybercrime Centre, told that it was now important that IT departments checked their systems on Monday morning to ensure they had not been compromised.

       “The global reach is unprecedented and beyond what we have seen before," Rob Wainwright, director of the Netherlands-based Europol said Sunday "The latest count is over 2,00,000 victims in at least 150 countries, and those victims, many of those will be businesses, including large corporations.”

         “At the moment, we are in the face of an escalating threat.

 The numbers are going up," he added. "I am worried about how the numbers will continue to grow when people go to work and turn on their machines on Monday morning."

       Wainwright said the attack was indiscriminate, fast-spreading and unique, because the ransom ware was being used in combination with a worm, which means the infection of one computer automatically could spread it through a whole network.

       Symantec and Kaspersky lab said on Monday that some code in an earlier version of the WannaCry software had also appeared in programmes used by the Lazarus Group, which researchers from many companies have identified as a North Korea- run hacking operation.

       “This is the best clue we have seen to date as to the origins of WannaCry,” Kaspersky Lab researcher Kurt Baumgartner told Reuters news agency.

       Both firms said it was too early to tell whether North Korea was involved in the attacks, based on the evidence that was published on Twitter by Google security researcher Neel Mehta. The attacks, which slowed on Monday, are among the fastest spreading  extortion campaigns on record.

       Man who saved the world  from Ransom Ware Marcus Hutchins has been credited with stopping the WannaCry ransom ware attack from spreading across the globe by accidentally triggering a "kill switch".-

       The self-taught 22-year-old took just a few hours to stop the breach, which had already  

spread to more than 200,000 victims – including the NHS - across 150 countries.

       He is now working with the government's National Cyber Security Centre to prevent a new strain of the malicious software, it was reported.

       He is believed to have stopped the attack from a small bedroom in his parents' house. Pictures emerged of his self-made IT hub, crammed with takeaway pizza boxes, video games and computer servers.

       It was only on Saturday when he emerged as the accidental hero of the attack. In a blog, he described how he stopped the spread of the virus by purchasing a web domain for £8 and by redirecting it elsewhere. He reportedly shouted "eureka" when he realized he had unintentionally taken down the virus.

       The problem is that there are a lot of computers out there that either don’t have automatic updates enabled or are so outdated that Microsoft has stopped providing security updates altogether.

       Many of these machines are in corporate networks. Company IT professionals often delay software updates for fear that they could break existing software. The rapid spread of WannaCry on Friday helped motivate a lot of security professionals to put in extra hours on the weekend to make sure their systems wouldn’t be vulnerable

       In other cases, companies have ancient programs or devices that only work with outdated versions of Windows.

For example, WannaCry hit British hospitals hard because many of them are still using the 16 year old  Windows XP operating system. 

       Latest evidence suggests 

“phishing” emails are unlikely to have caused  the global cyber-attack that wreaked havoc at dozens of NHS trusts and hit hundreds of thousands of computers in 150 countries.

       Authorities had warned of a day of chaos ahead of Monday, with the National Cyber Security saying that existing infections could spread through computer systems.

       Affected NHS trusts were criticized for not adding the patch despite warnings from NHS digital a month ago that they were vulnerable to a possible attack.

       To protect your computer from ransom ware:

•    Make sure your security software patches are up to date
•    Make sure that you are running anti-virus software
•    Back up your data in multiple locations, including offline
•    Avoid opening unknown email attachments or clicking on links in spam emails.
•    Victims of fraud should report it to Action Fraud
•    Do not pay any ransom demands, says cyber security officials.

       Users of Windows XP, Windows Server 2003 and Windows 8 can defend against the ransom ware by downloading the new patch from Windows.

       To prevent more cyber-attacks, we need real tech experts. The ransom ware attack was the result of staggering ignorance and complacency. The governments need to start taking IT seriously.

       Digital should do a better job of making sure they spend on cyber security; some spend nothing at all. The governments need to start taking tech seriously and invest in those who understand it.

       The governments of the world should treat this as a wakeup call!!!