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French Researchers Find Last-ditch Cure To Unlock WannaCry Files (reuters.com)
French researchers said on Friday they had found a last-chance way for technicians to save Windows files encrypted by WannaCry, racing against a deadline as the ransomware threatens to start locking up victims' computers first infected a week ago. From a report: WannaCry, which started to sweep round the globe last Friday and has infected more than 300,000 computers in 150 nations, threatens to lock out victims who have not paid a sum of $300 to $600 within one week of infection. A loose-knit team of security researchers scattered across the globe said they had collaborated to develop a workaround to unlock the encryption key for files hit in the global attack, which several independent security researchers have confirmed. The researchers warned that their solution would only work in certain conditions, namely if computers had not been rebooted since becoming infected and if victims applied the fix before WannaCry carried out its threat to lock their files permanently. Also see: Windows XP PCs Infected By WannaCry Can Be Decrypted Without Paying Ransom.
No, I'm afraid this is an instance of the American's surrendering and the French fighting. In other words, this reflects more of reality as America fails at not just its international obligations but even its intra-national ones. In contrast France actively fights terrorist groups in Mali and Niger so that they don't link in Nigeria and create a greater problem for the western world.
Topically, this is a sign of the strength of the French university system superseding the American system in one of the most important fields for future security.