Hackers must be grateful to the CIA and the NSA.

Last week a malware devised by the National Security Agency was used to block computers all over the world. A tool known as Eternal Blue was developed by US spooks to take advantage of a weakness in Microsoft software. "This attack provides yet another example of why stockpiling of vulnerabilities by governments is such a problem," said Microsoft President, Brad Smith. He compared it to the US losing some of its Tomahawk cruise missiles. Microsoft had released a patch earlier this year to plug the vulnerability in its Windows system but many did not use it. The hackers demanded a ransom of $300 in Bitcoins before they would unblock computers. Some are blaming Microsoft saying that they should create patches even for older operating systems, but that will be expensive. In Andhra, police computers were infected. Fortunately, this virus was only demanding a ransom but the next attack could easily copy all the data from the police. The Aadhaar details of Andhra citizens could be up for sale. Experts say that the hackers are rank amateurs who have made many mistakes. They have only managed to collect $50,000 so far. Some are blaming North Korea for the hack but so far no one is certain.  There is an uproar in the US, alleging Russian interference with the US presidential election by hacking into Democrat Party emails. A Senate committee is investigating the leaks. But, no one is blaming the US for creating the malware and asking it for compensation. Who has the guts to challenge the big bully? In March, WikiLeaks revealed that the CIA was hacking into smart phones and smart TVs all over the world to spy on foreign citizens. Those hacking tools were stolen and could be used by criminals to blackmail people by getting personal information. The CIA made it look as if Russians are behind their hack. Imagine the CIA getting details of what our politicians and civil servants are up to. They might faint. Apparently, ransomware similar to this one can be bought online for as little as 16 pounds, which is about Rs 1,300. With a gadget bought from Amazon for 257 pounds criminals can steal a top of the range Range Rover, costing 105,000 pounds, in 2 minutes. In October, a malware brought down Netflix, Twitter and Spotify by overloading their sites. The hackers used ordinary domestic gadgets, like TVs, refrigerators and even baby monitors to flood the system. Using WiFi to pay digitally on mobile phones can easily be hacked into. No one will update security on household gadgets. Indeed, we do not even know whether such updates are available. Meanwhile, our government is trying to shove digital banking down our throats. How safe is it? Not at all, is the answer. Luckily, we Indians are poor, so have little to lose.