Essay on World Cyber-Attack in May 2017

Introduction

The most significant event that took place in 2017 was the world cyber-attack that occurred in May that year. It was a ransomware cyber-attack that hit the National Health Service (NHS) of Britain and largest companies of Spain, Russia, Taiwan, and the Ukraine among other countries. Mohurle and Patil elucidate that there were more than 45000 attacks recorded in 99 countries across the world (pp. 12-21). The virus was meant to attack personal computers and consequently encrypt their contents. After that, the perpetrators would demand money for the key that decrypts the corrupted files. Typically, the attack crippled operations in NHS and companies and thus the need to avert current and future possible cyber-attacks.

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The NHS easily became a target as it was still using Windows XP, an outdated version of the operating system of Microsoft (O'dowd 357). This operating system had no available security updates. It is imperative to note that the cyber-attack of 2017 had significance as it halted operations in hospitals across the UK. These health facilities could not access patients' information or even conduct surgery. According to O'dowd, in less than six hours, the co-ordinated attack infected many health service computers and caused hospitals and other health facilities across the UK to divert emergency patients (357). In France, the attack led to the shutdown of Sandouville factory's production unit. Another factory that closed down its operation was the Nissan Company's Sunderland factory, which is Renault's partner company. Another significance of the attack is that it became an eye-opener for NHS as it made the hospital management in the UK and across the world to update their operating systems to the latest versions that are secure.

The world experiences millions of cyber-attacks every day (Bendovschi 24). These attacks are detrimental to businesses and governments. They lead to financial loss due to disruption of trading, stealing of corporate information, and loss of financial information such as payment card details or bank details. Moreover, cyber-attacks lead to reputational damage as cyber-terrorists still customer information which erodes the trust that customers have on the business. The consequence of this is loss of customers, sales, and reduction in revenues and profits. It could also lead to lawsuits due to a deliberate or accidental leak of customer or staff information. The ramification for this is that businesses and organizations may receive regulatory sanctions or fines.

The Internet of Things (IoT) is increasingly becoming popular as it has ingrained in people's daily lives. Just like other technologies, IoT is not safe from cyber-attacks. It is essential to highlight that as technology evolves, so are the emergence of new threats to IoT. In this regard, IoT developers need to continuously improve these devices to enhance their security features to avert the problem of cyber-attacks. By so doing, the technological world will be a safe place for both companies and citizens (Abomhara &Koien 65).

It is pivotal to note that even though cyber-attacks happen every day, numerous countermeasures can be used to alleviate this problem. There needs to be a needs-based and real-time support action that responds immediately to a cyber-invasion. Moreover, software developers need to intensify training as well as availing educational materials to users to increase their awareness of cyber-attacks and how to minimize severity of such crimes. Another remedy is to formulate stringent laws and regulations that apply punitive measures for those found culpable of committing cybercrime (Bendovschi 24-31).

Conclusion

In general, the worldwide cyber-attack of 2017 has detrimental effects to NHS and companies as it led to their closure, thus loss of revenue. It made businesses and governments to be on high alert for future invasions. Also, IoT is becoming popular as new devices that enhance human activities are being discovered daily. It is thus pivotal for IoT developers to enhance security features of these devices. Additionally, there are many ways of preventing future cybercrimes. Some of the ways include intensive training and education, stringent government regulations, and developing a real-time support system.

Works Cited

Abomhara, Mohamed, and Geir M. Koien. "Cybersecurity and the internet of things: vulnerabilities, threats, intruders and attacks." Journal of Cyber Security 4.1 (2015): 65-88.

Bendovschi, Andreea. "Cyber-attacks-trends, patterns and security countermeasures." Procedia Economics and Finance28 (2015): 24-31.

Mohurle, Savita, and Manisha Patil. "A brief study of wannacry threat: Ransomware attack 2017." International Journal of Advanced Research in Computer Science 8.5 (2017): 12-21.

O'dowd, Adrian. "Major global cyber-attack hits NHS and delays treatment." BMJ: British Medical Journal (Online) 2(1) (2017): 357