Cybersecurity

After Huge Global Cyberattack, Countries Scramble to Halt Spread of Ransomware

Britain's health care system and much of Europe were back on track Saturday after a crippling worldwide cyber-extortion attack was stymied — purportedly all thanks to a cybersecurity researcher who bought a website for $10.69.

The researcher, who identifies himself online as MalwareTech, noticed that the malicious software that caused Friday afternoon's attack consistently pinged an unregistered web domain. So he bought the website's URL and made it live, he said.

That act essentially flipped a kill switch — halting the attack as it rippled worldwide, according to MalwareTech and the British government. By then, however, dozens of countries and some of their hospitals, companies and government offices were already infected.