Microsoft Releases XP Patch for WannaCry Ransomware

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Amazing!

After several years of non support, so many folks are getting zapped by a nasty type of ransomware, they put out a security patch for Windows XP.

Excerpt:

"Microsoft has taken the extraordinary step of providing an emergency update for unsupported Windows XP and Windows 8 machines in the wake of Friday’s WannaCry ransomware outbreak.

Unknown attackers were using the EternalBlue exploit leaked by the ShadowBrokers in April to spread WannaCry, a variant of the WCry malware, which surfaced in February. EternalBlue, an offensive hacking tool allegedly developed by the NSA, exploits a Windows SMBv1 vulnerability that was patched by Microsoft in March in security bulletin MS17-010.

Yesterday’s attack overran many businesses in Europe at the start, hitting hardest in Russia, Ukraine and India. Large telecommunications companies in Spain and many NHS healthcare facilities in the United Kingdom were also affected, as were other enterprises worldwide. Employees were told to shut down and unplug machines, and in the case of the U.K. hospitals, patient care at many facilities was affected. Non-emergency surgeries were postponed and patients were diverted to other facilities.

The ransomware locked up machines, encrypted files and demanded approximately $600 in Bitcoin for a recovery key.

Microsoft acknowledged the dire straits many of its customers were in, and rolled out a patch for all computers that were not protected by the March update.

“Seeing businesses and individuals affected by cyberattacks, such as the ones reported today, was painful,” Microsoft said last night. “Microsoft worked throughout the day to ensure we understood the attack and were taking all possible actions to protect our customers.”

The March update was made available one month before the ShadowBrokers’ high-profile leak of Windows exploits, including the Fuzzbunch platform that included EternalBlue and other exploits. EternalBlue targeted a then-unknown Windows SMBv1 remote code execution vulnerability. The widespread impact of yesterday’s attack—close to 100,000 infections so far in 99 countries by some accounts—indicates a lack of patching vigilance despite ample warning."

 

More in the article here:

https://threatpost.com/microsoft-releases-xp-patch-for-wannacry-ransomware/125671/