RIYADH: Saudi Telecom Co. (STC) on Sunday said its systems have not been affected by the WannaCry virus that has spread like wildfire worldwide in the past three days.
STC issued the clarification in a statement on Twitter in response to claims circulating on social media that STC is among those affected by the "ransomware" virus.
In one photo, multiple computers are shown displaying the red windows in what appears to be a large operations room with an STC logo visible in the background.
“The company clarifies that its networks and systems were not affected, thank God, and further that what was shown in the media relates to some personal devices which specialized technical teams will address,” the statement.
Europol, the European Union’s police agency, has said the international “ransomware” cyberattack has so far hit more than 100,000 organizations in at least 150 countries.
Another 100,000 individual computers are said to have fallen victim to the cyberextortion attack and the figure could be much higher.
Among those affected in the attack that began Friday were Britain’s hospital network , Germany’s national railway, Russia's Ministry of Interior, Spain's telecom company Telefonica and French carmaker Renault.
Believed to be the biggest online extortion attack ever recorded, the virus disrupted computers that run factories, banks, government agencies and transport systems. It crippled the British health care system for a day, infecting nearly 20 percent of its health care groups, forcing medical treatments to be canceled or postponed for thousands of people.
Chinese media are reporting that the global “ransomware” virus attacked many university networks in China.
The Beijing News said Sunday that students at several universities around the country reported being hit by the virus, which blocked access to their thesis papers and dissertation presentations.
In each case, a pop-up window demanded payments of $300, or about 2,000 yuan, in order to free the files.
Had it not been for a young British cybersecurity researcher’s accidental discovery of a so-called “kill switch,” the malicious software likely would have spread much farther and faster that it did Friday.
As terrifying as the unprecedented global “ransomware” attack was, cybersecurity experts say it’s nothing compared to what might be coming — especially if companies and governments don’t make major fixes.
Europol said it was too early to say who is behind the onslaught and what their motivation was.
(With Reuters and AP)
