The WannaCry ransomware that affected thousands of computers worldwide was based on a vulnerability stolen from the NSA by the hacking group Shadow Brokers, which decided to publish it online earlier this year.
Furthermore, the same hacking group also disclosed some other vulnerabilities that the NSA was keeping and is believed to have used to compromise computers worldwide – and of course there is a good chance that the agency possesses additional security flaws that have not yet been disclosed.
That's why security firm Qihu developed the so-called 360 NSA Cyber Weapons Defense, an application that aims to scan your computer and determine if it's vulnerable to any of the known vulnerabilities that have been used in the past by the NSA.
This includes the EternalBlue exploit, which was used for WannaCry, but also a bunch of other tools used for cyberattacks around the world, such as EternalChampion, EternalRomance, and EternalSynergy.
“Attackers, with these NSA cyber-weapons, can break into 70% of Windows systems globally. An unconnected computer can be infected when it connects to the Internet, even without clicking on a link or a file,” the security firm explains.
The application can scan your computer to determine if it is fully up to date and block all known vulnerabilities, and in case there are security flaws, perform automatic download and installation of updated versions so you are safe. Additionally, an Internet connection is not required, so you can repair your system without having access to the internet and consequently expose yourself to any infection risk.
No doubt, some users may have reservations about the fact that a Chinese company has a software solution that blocks hacking tools, but it is a very easy method to look for any vulnerabilities that may expose your system when you are online.
