WannaCry, infected users receive a new message

In the text that appeared on affected computers, victims are "invited" to pay the ransom to obtain the WannaCry decryption keys

WannaCry: act two. One of the most extensive and dangerous ransomware infections, considering the number of people involved, is not over yet. As IT security expert Thijs Bosschert reports on his Twitter profile, affected users would have received another message.

The hackers who launched Wannacry, which at the moment despite suspicions remain unnamed, would have sent to affected computers a text through which victims are asked to pay the ransom. The users are "reassured" about sending the keys to get back possession of the encrypted data. “Ho già inviato le chiavi di decriptazione ai molti clienti – si legge nel messaggio in inglese apparso sui display dei computer infettati – che mi hanno mandato la somma giusta in Bitcoin”. Poi l’autore del testo in qualche modo vuole anche “garantire” sui tempi di consegna. “Inviami un messaggio con l’indirizzo del tuo Wallet Bitcoin (il portafoglio digitale per gestire la moneta virtuale) un’ora prima del pagamento e riceverai la chiave di decriptazione più velocemente”.

Messaggio inviato o programmato dall’inizio?

wannacry-atto-due.jpgFonte foto: web

Il secondo messaggio che spaventa gli utenti infettati da WannaCry

Non è chiaro se l’invio del messaggio sia partito a comando o fosse, come è molto probabile, programmato fin dall’inizio per apparire a un orario preciso di un certo giorno. The ransomware virus, which was able to replicate itself and attack more than 300,000 computers around the world in just a few hours, could continue to strike. WannaCry could have had worse consequences if a young British researcher hadn't found a way to stop it: the boy, studying the virus' code, had realized that it was enough to register a particular domain to be able to stop the outbreak. And so it was.

Hunting for those responsible

In the meantime, cybersecurity agencies around the world have launched a full-fledged manhunt, hoping to track down those responsible and stop the threat for good.