


Some have claimed a need for 24/7 operation, aversion to risking having formerly working applications breaking because of patch changes, lack of personnel or time to install them, or other reasons. These patches were imperative to organizations' cyber security but many were not implemented due to ignorance of their importance. While Microsoft had released patches previously to close the exploit, much of WannaCry's spread was from organizations that had not applied these, or were using older Windows systems that were past their end-of-life. EternalBlue was stolen and leaked by a group called The Shadow Brokers a month prior to the attack. It propagated by using EternalBlue, an exploit developed by the United States National Security Agency (NSA) for Windows systems. The WannaCry ransomware attack was a worldwide cyberattack in May 2017 by the WannaCry ransomware cryptoworm, which targeted computers running the Microsoft Windows operating system by encrypting data and demanding ransom payments in the Bitcoin cryptocurrency. Ransomware encrypting files with $300–600 USD demand (via bitcoin) Screenshot of the ransom note left on an infected system
