Whiz kid who foiled cyberattack
The young cyber security researcher known only by his Twitter handle @MalwareTechBlog, says he found a way of slowing the spread of WannaCry by chance Paris (AFP) They are called white hats -- the good guys in the Wild West of the internet -- and they ride to the rescue as in the case of the 22-year-old British expert who helped stop the WannaCry cyberattack. The young cyber security researcher, known only by his Twitter handle @MalwareTechBlog, says he found a weakness by chance that allowed slowing the spread of WannaCry, a type of malware called ransomware that encrypts files on an infected computer and demands money to unlock them. Britain's National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) published his discovery, but also noted he was not an employee. British media reported that he is employed in a cyber security firm and that he wishes to remain anonymous. "He clearly succeeded in halting the spread" of Wanna Cry, said cyber security expert Marco Cov...