So last year, we had, and survived viruses like Wannacry and Petya. But now this year, we have new viruses, new threats. That’s just the beginning.
So here are some new names: MasterKey, Fallout and Chimera. Those are just the ones we know of. Also, these new viruses, new threats just came out in early 2018. But these are different, because other viruses attack software. These new ones attack hardware. Yes, cyber security experts are building patches and other remedies to fight these hardware threats. However, is there something even deeper going on here?
Some IT service security journalists say yes. They talk about an ongoing cyber war between hackers and defenders. Furthermore, some speculate websites like Meltdown could be a battleground between hackers and cyber security. Here is the cat and mouse game. Hackers create a virus. Researchers catch it. Then they tell the manufactures and businesses about it so they can fix it. In the best cases, like Meltdown’s website, they give ample warning. That way, somebody can fix the problem. But if a company is warned only a day in advance, that’s when problems can start. Timing can make a world of difference between safety and destruction.
Then there is knowledge. Not only that, but what are you willing to do with that knowledge? For example, Windows XP. This piece of software has been defunct for years. But for some reason, people insists on holding onto it. And for some reason (ahem), hackers insisted on attacking it. Remember the Wannacry last year? It hit British hospitals so bad that heart disease patients couldn’t even get critical surgeries and other treatments. They still held on the XP, which was easy to infect because Windows stopped supporting it…back in 2014! So here we are now. We in IT support tried to warn the world.? New viruses, new threats: That’s just the beginning. What are you going to do about it?