>
Article snippet: Right Now: The spread of a “ransomware” attack against computer systems around the world affected the United States much less than other nations because a British cybersecurity researcher accidentally stopped the attack from spreading more widely, according to cybersecurity experts. ■ Computer security experts struggled on Saturday to contain the fallout from the audacious cyberattacks that demanded ransom from users with the threat that their data would be destroyed. Microsoft issued a new patch for all Windows after the attack. ■ In Asia, there were widespread reports of attacks at universities, with students locked out of their theses and final papers as graduation loomed. ■ Over all, more than 45,000 attacks were recorded in as many as 74 countries. Russia was the worst hit, followed by Ukraine, India and Taiwan, according to Kaspersky Lab, a Russian cybersecurity firm. Among the companies and government agencies affected were FedEx, Britain’s National Health Service and the Russian Interior Ministry. ■ Cybersecurity experts identified the malicious software as a variant of ransomware known as WannaCry. ■ Hackers appeared to have exploited a flaw in Microsoft’s Windows operating system that was first discovered by the United States National Security Agency. The flaw and a tool to exploit it with malicious software were made public in April by a hacker collective known as Shadow Brokers. ■ At least 36 British hospitals and other medical facilities seemed to be... Link to the full article to read more