Global cyberattack: A super-simple explanation of what’s going on
Global cyberattack: A super-simple explanation of what’s going on
Emanuel Hasaj
MGT 435
For my current event paper, I chose an article regarding a recent Global Cyberattack involving 150 countries, and affecting 200,000 computers in total. I also wanted to give a brief overview of the history of how Microsoft Windows, the firm involved has a long history of operating system updates but not a complete handle on consumers’ security. Microsoft was founded by Bill Gates, and Paul Allen in 1975. However, Microsoft Windows was not launched until 1985. As I mentioned before the history of Microsoft Windows includes many updates since it first launched in 1985. Microsoft Windows went from Windows 1 to the current version of Windows: Windows 10 within 32 years. The versions of Windows during the span of those 32 years include, Windows 1, which was just the beginning of the many versions Microsoft would release. Windows 2 was released two years after Windows 1 in 1987. It was another upgrade for Microsoft Windows, in the upgrade users were able to maximize and minimize their windows, which made it easier for the users to navigate within Windows. Also, in Windows 2, two of the most used programs in Microsoft were introduced. Those two programs are Microsoft Word and Microsoft Excel. (2014, October 02)
Windows 3 was released in 1990, much like when the mouse was released in 1985, the first use of the hard drive in Microsoft that we still use today was released in 1990. Following Windows 3, there was Windows 3.1, and Windows 95 which introduced the Start button, as well as Internet Explorer. Windows 98 was released in 1998 and introduced the forward and back buttons. Windows 2000, sleep mode. Then came Windows XP in 2001. This was arguably the popular version of Windows, which lasted until 2007, but became obsolete by 2014 and it had many updates because of its popularity in order to keep information, and everything else safe. However, the problem with XP though was the security. I will elaborate about this later. Windows firewall was installed on XP, but the user had to manually turn it on, and if people forgot to turn it on, it left people vulnerable to hackings, and other illegal activity. This uncertainty led to the issue of Service Pack Updates, the updates helped secure Windows for the time being but did not make the computer 100% secure. (2014, October 02)
Following XP, Windows Vista was introduced in 2007, Windows upgraded to programs such as Windows Defender, as well as Windows Media Player 11 and Internet Explorer 7. The problem with Vista was that it had too many deficiencies, which made it run slow. On a side note, my first computer was an XP, and I had heard about Windows Vista and it made want to update. I went online and found the free update, but regretted making that decision because it made my computer even slower. Windows 7 debuted in 2009, and was much faster and had less deficiencies than its predecessor, Windows Vista. In 2012, Microsoft released Windows 8 and revamped its system, opting instead to go for a touch screen start menu. They also introduced the Windows Store, which is like the app store on iPhone or the Google Play Store on Android. The apps that could be downloaded on the store are either directly from Microsoft or a third-party source. About a year or so after Microsoft updated to Windows 8.1, which brought back the start button, this time the start button was the Windows logo. (2014, October 02) Finally, the latest update to Windows was Windows 10. It was released in 2015. (2017, May 19)
Overall, the history and the updates of Microsoft Windows show that Microsoft has improved in terms of its operating system overall but it is still very vulnerable to viruses for people who do not have virus protection, or an enabled Firewall, or Windows Defender.
As I mentioned before, I chose an article from CNN which is about a cyberattack that has occurred in 150 countries which involves hackers looking for ransom after locking users out of their files. The issue being raised in the article is the global cyberattack that has occurred recently involving Microsoft Windows and 150 countries. The hackers who are behind this( newbies to this sort of attack) lock the user out of their files on their computer and ask for $300 ransom for the user to regain back full control of their computer. This cyberattack has been called “Ransomware” because that is what the hackers are asking for: ransom from users to give back full control. This cyberattack has affected 200,000 computers in 150 different countries. Microsoft, released an update a few months ago which could have possibly prevented an attack like this. However, not everybody installed the update, which left many users vulnerable to this cyberattack. Microsoft lets users set their settings on their computer to update windows automatically whether the computer is on or not. Setting the settings as automatic would make a big difference for everyone that has a windows computer. (2017, May 14).
I am a Management Information Systems major and have always been intrigued by the security aspect of the major. Last semester, I was in a class that was focused on the security of computers, such as firewalls, spyware, virus protection, etc. That is what drew me to reading this article and choosing this as my current event. The key concept of the class/major is to keep information safe and not let it slip into the wrong hands, in this case, the wrong hands are the hackers. The article, as I mentioned before states that 150 different countries are affected. I think that the information presented in this article is relevant because of the amount of countries involved, as well as the amount of money that the hackers have collected, which is a little more than $50,000. Based on the cyberattack at hand that Microsoft is dealing with, I believe that Microsoft will learn from this and make all the computers they produce automatically install the updates the customer needs to protect themselves from these sorts of attacks. I also think that since there are some free virus protection options on the internet available for download, Microsoft would be smart to include a full year subscription of AVG, Comodo, etc. Microsoft already includes McAfee, or Norton when you purchase a computer from them but it is only a free trial which lasts a few months. Many users get annoyed by the constant pop ups asking for a full purchase, so they delete it completely and are left vulnerable to attacks such as the cyberattack that has occurred.
I do not believe that potential new customer’s or users of Microsoft computers will be scared away from Microsoft because of this one issue that has occurred recently. I think that Microsoft will learn from this. I believe that current users will learn from this and become more informed as to what can happen when the computer is not properly updated with the updates Windows provides and not being properly secured with a virus protection. This cyberattack will serve as an example to everyone involved. The ideas that I have given, which are to make updates install automatically, as well as installing a free full year virus protection makes sense because the updates keep the computer up to date, and the virus protection guards the computer from threats. I would say this article is newsworthy because it shows what can happen when a computer is not properly up to date, it can be vulnerable to cyberattacks such as this recent one.
Works Cited
Gibbs, S. (2014, October 02). From Windows 1 to Windows 10: 29 years of Windows evolution. Retrieved May 20, 2017, from https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/oct/02/from-windows-1-to-windows-10-29-years-of-windows-evolution
Goldman, D. (2017, May 14). Global cyberattack: A super-simple explanation of what happened. Retrieved May 20, 2017, from http://money.cnn.com/2017/05/14/technology/global-cyberattack-explanation/index.html
Martin, J. (2017, May 19). Here’s what you need to know about the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update. Retrieved May 20, 2017, from http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/new-product/windows/windows-10-creators-update-release-date-features-3496959/
1