The rampant wave of computer-system attacks has been scary. For the last three days, they have infected as many as 200,000 Windows PCs with ransomware in at least 150 countries. Apparently, they have been infecting only computers running Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) Windows. This has put government agencies under fire as the tech giant claims that they have been gathering those flaws and keeping them a secret.
Keeping software weaknesses secret is criminal according to Microsoft president and chief legal officer, Brad Smith, who thinks there could be is a sinister motive behind it. He alleges that vendors are left in the dark exposing them to the vulnerability of more attacks, which researchers and other experts say hackers could be ready to release.
The governments of the world should treat these attacks as a wake-up call
A majority of the attacks are on Windows, which have not been installed with security patch released in March by Microsoft. Chief executive of Tel Aviv-based cybersecurity firm Illusive Networks Ofer Israeli says that attacks would get serious because some organizations may take long to install the patches. They could also be worsened by how the virus works given that it has two parts, which leads to faster spreading to other computers on the network.
However, Smith says that the governments ought to act swiftly by perhaps taking a different approach. He particularly points out at the need for adhering to cyberspace rules, which are well applied in the physical world of weapons.
“We need governments to consider the damage to civilians that comes from hoarding these vulnerabilities and the use of these exploits,” Smith says in a blog post.
Microsoft takes on WannaCry
Neither intelligence agencies nor private government contractors will reveal the techniques they use in developing hacks for whatever kind of software. Nonetheless, Microsoft has also come under criticism for not offering support to older Windows versions. However, the company is now taking the blame on WannaCry.
A fix for Windows XP machines was issued even having been out of support since 2014. Updates were also added to Windows Defender, which was an effort to prevent further spreading of the malware. It now remains to be seen what measure the government agencies and companies will be taking over the attacks. In the meantime, MSFT’s stock was trading at $68.38 a fall of $0.08 or 0.12%.