REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Indonesia is already free from the WannaCry ransomware attack that had recently affected at least 200 thousand computers worldwide, according to Communication and Informatics Minister Rudiantara.
"It can be said that today there is no more WannaCry, not only in Indonesia but also across the world," Minister Rudiantara stated on the sidelines of the 2017 Asia Pacific Satellite Communications System International Conference, here, Wednesday.
The WannaCry virus that attacks through data networks or the internet did not have a significant impact on Indonesia owing to the implementation of effective preventive measures, such as by cutting off internet connections and creating a backup of the data, he remarked.
The minister, however, admitted that few parties were affected by the WannaCry virus due to which they could not access their data, but their figure was small.
Tens of computers were affected by the virus in Indonesia, which is quite small as compared to those in the Great Britain, Russia, or China.
"We know that the Dharmais Hospital was partly affected. A police's one-roof public service system outside Java in Sulawesi was also attacked. A plantation company and a manufacturer were also affected. However, the virus attacked tens of their computers, as in one company, less than 10 computers might be affected," he revealed.
He also expressed belief that none of the affected companies paid a ransom worth about US$300 to access the locked data.
Also read: Dharmais Hospital refuses to pay ransom
"Regarding the ransom, I do not think Indonesian companies paid (it) because I have urged them to not pay," he emphasized.
Rudiantara had earlier also called on the public, particularly institutions and offices, to create backups and store data on a separate server.
WannaCry attacked computers having the Windows operating system, as it is vulnerable due to the server message block run by the computer and can execute commands to spread them to other computers on the same network.
The ransomware began spreading across the world last Thursday, locking targeted computers and encrypting the data stored in them. This was followed by a demand for ransom to restore the data.
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