World War III has begun. And it is being fought in cyberspace. A cyber-security expert calls it “the biggest ransomware outbreak in history”.
A month ago, a seer from Texas, Horacio Villegas, predicted that a world war would be triggered on the 100th anniversary of the visitation of Virgin Mary (May 13) to three kids in Fatima, Portugal.
The global cyberattack that has infected computers in over 100 countries on Saturday uses hacking tools widely believed to have been developed by the US National Security Agency. It has crippled the National Health Service (NHS) in England also.
Once a computer has been affected, it locks up the files and encrypts them in a way that the owner cannot access them anymore. It then demands payment in bitcoin in order to regain access. In other words, it’s a cyber-kidnapper.
Security experts warn there is no guarantee that access will be granted even after payment of a ransom. Some ransomware that encrypts files ups the stakes after a few days, demanding more money and threatening to delete files altogether.
Many were expecting a world war to be triggered by a standoff between the United States and North Korea. Little did they remember that the next world war would likely be fought in cyberspace.
Efforts are being made to stop the ransomware, but there is no certainty it won’t recur.
