Malicious Software

[Anchor Lead]

Malicious software known as "Ransomware" has been found to have inflicted damage on a number of Korean companies. More than four thousand attack attempts have been detected so far, with more cases of damage expected to follow.

[Pkg]

A green signal keeps appearing above the world map. It shows the attacks of WannaCry ransomware in real time. Ransomware attacks have been detected in Korea as well. One domestic security firm has spotted more than four thousand attacks so far.

[Soundbite] Choi Sang-myung(Security Company Staff Member) : "We received this data from a source that detects ransomware attacks all over the world. Given the number of attack attempts, many people in Korea are presumed to have fallen victim to this malicious software."

By contrast, only a handful of attack cases have been officially reported to theKorea Internet and Security Agency, mostly by churches, hospitals and businesses. This means that the majority of victims are not reporting their damages.

[Soundbite] Ransomware Attack Victim(Voice modified) : "I didn't report because I knew that there is no way to restore the lost files."

The Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning has raised the cyber security alert level and outlined countermeasures.

[Soundbite] Park Jung-ho(Korea Internet & Security Agency) : "Internet users should always use the latest versions of security patches for the Windows operating system and vaccine programs."

Locations using old versions of the Windows operating system, such as ATMs and credit card readers will likely have to beef up their security.