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ARTICLE · 17 MAY 2017

Companies should treat cyber security as corporate fraud

Corrs Chambers Westgarth
Corrs Chambers Westgarth
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Corrs Chambers Westgarth

Corrs Chambers Westgarth

Corrs Chambers Westgarth is Australia’s leading independent law firm. We provide exceptional legal...

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Recent global cyber security attacks have highlighted the importance of a comprehensive cyber security response plan.

AustraliaTechnology
Michael Do Rozario
Michael Do Rozario
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A string of global cyber security attacks has highlighted the importance of having a comprehensive cyber security response plan in place, according to Australia's leading independent law firm, Corrs Chambers Westgarth.

Over the weekend of 13 and 14 May 2017, a piece of ransomware called "WannaCrypt" or "WannaCry" spread globally. The ransomware spread through known exploits within certain out-of-support versions of the Windows operating system, which allowed the cyber-attack to bypass firewall security and then install the ransomware on victims' computers. The ransomware encrypts victims' files using 2048-bit encryption, before demanding a bitcoin payment equivalent to US$300 for the decryption of the files and threatening that the files would be lost if payment is not made within one week.

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