
WannaCry Sinkhole, Two Weeks and 16M Averted Ransoms Later - JamieH
https://blog.kryptoslogic.com/malware/2017/05/29/two-weeks-later.html
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curiousgal
The fact someone tried to DDOS the killswitch is straight out of a Hollywood
plot!

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protopete
And that the floods lasted exactly 420 seconds and 666 seconds, those script
kiddies are pretty creative when choosing numbers.

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RangerScience
I mean, I _would_ expect script kiddies to be fans of both weed and Doom, so,
not surprising.

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LinuxBender
I am saddened by this.

WannaCry was doing a great job of partitioning data from people that should
never have been "managing" it in the first place. I was really hoping that a
significant portion of my data had been encrypted into the abyss for eternity.

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bad_alloc
> I am saddened by this.

> House fires were doing a great job of partitioning houses from people that
> should never have been owning them in the first place. I was really hoping
> that a significant portion of my house had been burnt to the ground.

WannaCry damaged heathcare systems and caused real suffering for many people.
This is way beyond people deserving a nuisance for being incompetent. Creating
it was a dangerous and criminal act that should be seen on par with physical
sabotage of important systems. Should derailing a train be ok because the
tracks are "just lying there in the open"?

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Grangar
While dangerous, it was waiting to happen. I think if we look back on this in
10 years we'll consider it a wakeup call and we'll be glad it didn't get far
worse (as it could have, if the creators were competent).

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Cthulhu_
Like how derailing a train is waiting for it to happen?

Exploiting weaknesses is still cybercrime, even if the target system was
insecure. That's why there's black and white hats, and why white hat hackers
can still get into trouble.

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LinuxBender
A better analogy would be bacteria in your mouth.

For years, you had billions of bacteria in your mouth, slowly disintegrating
the enamel of your teeth and slowly burrowing cavities into your teeth. They
consume the food you eat, then urinate acidic waste that destroys your teeth
and gums. They do this so slowly that you don't even feel the acidic damage.

Then, one day, you use a very strong mouthwash that contains alcohol. The
alcohol instantly kills billions of bacteria, all of whom urinate instantly
all at the same time, in excruciatingly painful death. The acid level is so
high that it causes a burning sensation in your mouth, you are like, "damn,
this mouthwash burns, I'm not using this crap again!"

You saw the mouthwash as the bad guy. In reality, the bad guys were there all
along.

