A new variant of ransomware has been spreading around the globe like wildfire since Friday. Called WCry 2.0, WannaCry 2.0, or WannaCryptor 2.0, this new ransomware doesn’t only evade some legacy antivirus (AV) controls, but it leverages a recent Windows vulnerability to spread quickly within internal networks. It may be the “ransomworm” I predicted for 2017. Watch today’s video to learn more about this virulent new ransomware.
By the way, many of WatchGuard’s Firebox defenses can help:
- Our Gateway AntiVirus (GAV) does catch many variants of this new ransomware
- More importantly, APT Blocker’s behavioral detection can catch all seen strains of WCry. We recommend APT blocker as new strains of any malware may temporarily evade GAV.
- Finally, our Intrusion Prevention Service (IPS) can catch the NSA leaked vulnerability that this ransomworm uses to spread internally.
See the reference section below for more information.
Episode Runtime: 6:49
Direct YouTube Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-q5msulQDrg
EPISODE REFERENCES:
- Great technical post on WannaCry – Talos Blog
- Ransomware spreading worldwide using NSA exploit – Network World
- NHS hospitals affected by virulent ransomware – The Guardian
- MS17-010: The Windows vulnerability this ransomware exploits – Microsoft
- Bleeping Computer post about Wana Cryptor – Bleeping Computer
- Portugal Telco hit by ransomware – Reuters
- UK Hospitals meltdown due to WCry 2.0 – The Register
- Live map of WCry 2.0 infections – Malwaretech
- NSA leak helps ransomware spread – The Intercept
- News video on WannaCry – NBC News
- Fedex hit by WCry 2.0 – Reuters
- Wannacry has worm-like capabilities – Ars Technica
- WannaCry keeps spreading and evolving – The Hacker News
Corey Nachreiner, CISSP (@SecAdept)
Thanks Cory! Keep up the great work! We use the videos internally to bring things to our technician’s attention for best practices and let our sales people know what kind of service we can deliver using Watchguard’s products.
Corey,
Perhaps you recorded this prior to Microsoft releasing an XP patch for this. I’m disappointed as much as MS that this was even necessary.. Bottom line: Operating Systems written 15-20 years ago were not built to handle the threats that exist today.