WIREDGOV

The NCA is working closely with a range of partners both in the UK and overseas to protect the public and businesses from the global cyber-attack from the ‘WCry’ or ‘WannaDecrypt0r’ ransomware.

The NCA leads the UK law enforcement response to cyber threats  and is investigating this incident with the National Cyber Security Centre.

Specialist cyber crime officers from the NCA and policing are engaging directly with victims, including NHS trusts, and are visiting a number of NHS Sites to help protect victims and secure and preserve evidence.

While the NHS has been a high profile target in this attack, there are currently no indications that UK policing or other government departments have been infected with the ransomware.

The NCA is actively pursuing a number of lines of enquiry and is working with industry and international law enforcement partners, to identify and locate suspects.

Oliver Gower, Deputy Director of the NCA’s National Cyber Crime Unit said:

“This was a large-scale attack, but we are working closely with law enforcement partners and industry experts in the UK and overseas to support victims and identify the perpetrators.

"Cyber criminals may believe they are anonymous but we will use all the tools at our disposal to bring them to justice.

"Victims of cyber crime should report directly to ActionFraud. We encourage the public not to pay the ransom demand.”

ActionFraud is the UK’s national fraud and cyber crime reporting centre. Victims of cyber crime can report directly at actionfraud.police.uk ActionFraud offer advice and resources on how to protect your data, devices and what to do if infected.

The NCA are advising the public and organisations to help reduce the risk of these attacks by:

• Making sure your security software patches are up-to-date.
• Making sure that you are running anti-virus software.
• Backing-up your data in multiple locations, including offline.
• Avoiding opening unknown email attachments or clicking on links in spam emails.