Asian governments and businesses reported some disruptions from the WannaCry ransomware worm on Monday but cybersecurity experts warned of a wider impact as more employees turned on their computers and checked e-mails.
The ransomware that has locked up more than 200,000 computers in more than 150 countries has been mainly spread by e-mail, hitting factories, hospitals, shops and schools worldwide.
“Most of the attacks are arriving via e-mail, so there are many ‘landmines’ waiting in people’s in-boxes,” said Michael Gazeley, managing director of Network Box, a Hong Kong-based cybersecurity company.
29,000 Chinese institutions hit by cyberattack
Chinese state media said more than 29,000 institutions across China have been infected by the global”ransomware” cyberattack.Xinhua News Agency reports that by Saturday evening, 29,372 institutions had been infected along with hundreds of thousands of devices. It cited the Threat Intelligence Center of Qihoo 360, a Chinese internet security services company.
It says universities and educational institutions were among the hardest hit, numbering 4,341, or about 15 percent of internet protocol addresses attacked. Also affected were railway stations, mail delivery, gas stations, hospitals, office buildings, shopping malls and government services.
Xinhua said the system used by PetroChina’s gas stations was attacked, meaning customers could not use their cards to pay. Most stations had recovered.
A spokesman for the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing, one of the region’s biggest bourses, said all systems were so far working normally. “We remain highly vigilant,” he said.Companies have warned users and staff not to click on attachments or links. One school in South Korea barred its pupils from using the internet. Taiwan’s government appeared to have escaped major infection, possibly because regulations there require all departments to install software updates as soon as they are available.
South Korea’s presidential Blue House office said nine cases of ransomware were found in the country, but did not provide details on where the cyber attacks were discovered.
In Australia, Dan Tehan, the government minister responsible for cybersecurity, said just three businesses had been hit by the bug, despite worries of widespread infection. There were no reported cases in New Zealand.