Russian President Vladimir Putin has blamed the cyberattack that crippled personal computers and companies around the globe on US intelligence agencies. Putin insisted the tools used by the cyber criminals had been invented by the US, as Russian cyber security experts say Russia was among the countries hit hardest by the attack.
Hundreds of thousands of computers have been reported infected by the "WannaCry" virus, with some critics blaming US intelligence agencies. In a blog post, Microsoft CEO Brad Smith slammed the US National Security Agency for allowing hackers to steal technology exploiting computer vulnerabilities. He equated the incident to "having a Tomahawk missile stolen."
Putin, on a visit to China, also criticized US intelligence agencies for losing control over their own creation.
He said Russian computer infrastructure has not suffered serious damage, though Russian media reported that the Interior Ministry, the Defense Ministry and the Investigative Committee were affected. Some Russian mobile companies and the Russian railroads' servers and websites reportedly also experienced a short-term disruption.
Government agencies acted quickly to isolate and block the virus, but cyber security experts fear this won’t be the end of the attacks.
Though programmers managed to slow down the virus over the weekend, cyber criminals have reportedly cracked their code. And further after-shocks cannot be ruled out, especially in Russia, where many companies run on outdated software.
While cyber security experts are working on an effective antidote to deal with the virus, questions over who was behind the unprecedented attack and whether governments across the globe can avert similar crimes in the future remain unanswered.
