While the victims of the recent WannaCry attack were originally thought to be Windows XP users, report shows a totally different picture. According to new data from Kaspersky Lab, 98% of the WannaCry/WannaCrypt ransomware victims were running some version of Windows 7.In mid-May, WannaCry outbreak started by infecting some vulnerable machines. It created history as it successfully infected more than 200,000 computers around the world.
In mid-May, WannaCry outbreak started by infecting some vulnerable machines. It created history as it successfully infected more than 200,000 computers around the world.
Windows 7 X64 Was The Worst Hit Of The Versions – Key Takeaways
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1. 98% Of WannaCry Affected Machines Were Running Windows 7, Not XP
The director of the global research and analysis team at Kaspersky Lab, Costin Raiu, tweeted the firm’s findings on Friday. In the tweet, he said that Windows 7 x64 was the worst hit of the versions. Raju called the number of affected Windows XP systems “Insignificant.”
The data from Kaspersky Lab shows, roughly 98 percent of the computers affected by the ransomware running some version of Windows 7. And less than one in a thousand were running Windows XP. Making up just over 1 percent of infections the R2 Server clients were also hit hard.
2. Reason Behind The Windows 7 Infection Rates
The reason behind high infection rates in Windows 7 is somehow related to the critical security patch issued in the spring of 2017 which some users may have missed. Numerous organizations seem to have been caught because they failed to apply the patch. This patch was issued by Microsoft in March, it blocked the vulnerability exploited by WannaCry.
Logistics firm FedEx, German rail firm Deutsche Bahn, French automaker Renault, Spanish telecom firm Telefonica, 61 NHS organizations, and the interior ministry of Russia became victims of the WannaCry ransomware.
3. Windows 7 Claims 69% Market Share And 89% Penetration Rate
Given the continuing popularity of the OS, it would make sense to call it an intentional targeting of Windows 7 systems. According to SpiceWorks survey, Windows 7 was the most popular Windows OS in terms of both market share and penetration, making it a clear victim of an attack like WannaCry.
WannaCry first hit the world on May 12, 2017. It took down the UK’s National Health Service (NHS) and quickly spread leaving more than 200,000 PCs affected across multiple countries. While the attack affected many organizations, it was more prevalent in the healthcare industry.
Some steps have been taken to curb the effects of the attack, but the business world still does not understand its lasting effects. It is also anticipated that there would be slightly different copycat attacks coming in the future.
Date: 24 May, 2017