As teens begin to enter adulthood they become more vulnerable to cyber attackers. Our latest hit was on May 12, when a hacker group going by the name “Shadow Brokers” dumped tools said to have belong to the National Security Agency leading up to the WannaCry virus. The Shadow Brokers are not said to be behind the initial attack themselves but they released the tool online in April (DailyMail).

Thousands of computers in China and Japan were hit by the virus. This has caused worry among the people saying if the government can get hacked so could anyone. “Every government department is vulnerable to hackers, former civil service chief admits,” Telegraph.co.uk reported from the former head of the civil service.

The cyber attack hit workers at hospitals and companies all over flashing a message saying, “Oops, your file has been encrypted!” and later demanded about $300 in Bitcoin, which is untraceable money, to get back access to their computer. “At least 45 British hospitals and other medical facilities seemed to be hit hardest by the attacks, which blocked doctors from gaining access to patient files and caused emergency rooms to divert patients” (NYTimes).

Things you can do to protect your computer can be just simply deleting unknown emails or avoiding pop up ads. Keeping your software up-to-date and constantly checking for future ones could play a major role in keeping your money in your wallet.

Being aware and spreading tips can save you from being tricked. When students were asked if they knew what to do if something like this occurs, they were a little less than knowledgeable.

Monroe High Student Arianna Bunch stated, “I have never been hacked or got sent something weird like that but my mom told me to just delete emails I don’t expect and not to answer random calls.”

“I have no idea but let’s pray this never happens to me,” Jessalyn Johnson from Orchard High said.

Putting an end to crimes like these may get harder as the hackers get smarter and we don’t teach our current generation about them and how to combat them.