Global cyber extortion attack

Cyberattacks that hit more than 70 countries across Europe and Asia Friday, impacting the public health system in Britain, apparently involved a leaked hacking tool from the National Security Agency. The attack used ransomware, which is malware that encrypts data and locks a user from their data until they pay a ransom. The tool, which was leaked by a group known as Shadow Brokers, had been stolen from the NSA as part of a wide swath of tools illegally released in 2016.