Finland averts ransomware cyber-attacks

The ongoing worldwide cyber attack has given Finnish cyber security experts reason to praise the level of protection in Finland, local media reported on Monday.

Even though the WannaCry malware hit 200,000 computers around the world, only some dozens were contaminated in Finland.

Jarmo Niemela, the leading researcher at the Finnish F-Secure computer security company, said that the attack was technically at the level of year 2003. "Thus, the medicines of 2003 could have blocked it. That is, firewalls," he noted.

Finland remained largely intact due to continued presence of traditional computer security. Out of the ten thousand attempts against Finland based computers, only a fraction worked.

"Certain basic matters in computer protection have been done well in this country," Niemela told national broadcaster Yle. "The lesson learnt from this event is that basic protections must continue to be maintained."

Niemela said while the basic protection adds to the daily costs, it is better than causing problems. Niemela also saw "simple laziness" as the main reason that the malware managed to get this much circulation.

He pointed out that the windows XP system has been almost completely phased out in Finland. "It may exist in some old cash registry programs, but there the risks have been recognized and the systems are well isolated."

European media covered widely the problems the attack created in British hospitals and health care. Niemela said the underlying reason had been poor maintenance of the cyber security, and "in Finland we are not guilty of that".

Niemela did not exclude a new wave if preparedness is not being maintained.