DZone

The WannaCry ransomware attack, which was one of the largest cyber attacks faced recently, was based on the exploit of a Windows OS vulnerability. Just a couple of months earlier, Microsoft had released patches in its MS 17-010 security update. This ransomware that spread across hundreds of countries and infected thousands of computers could have been blocked if appropriate patches had been applied in a timely manner.

The WannaCry ransomware typically targeted older versions of the Windows operating systems, and Microsoft had stopped support for these some time back and had advised those users to upgrade to the latest Windows operating system – Windows 10. However, due to many reasons, some valid and some invalid, enterprises did not upgrade to Windows 10.

Source: DZone