In mid-May, more than 150 countries were targeted by the large-scale computer attack that used the WannaCry virus. This malware was a ransomware that blocked user files in exchange for a Bitcoin amount. North Korea was once suspected, but now experts seem to be turning to a group of people from the southern region of China.
It was the US security firm Flashpoint that analyzed the malware WannaCry. According to her, the linguistic analysis of the virus would have revealed that the software was written by a Chinese who speaks a southern dialect. For Flashpoint, it was thanks to a lack of input that she was able to reach this conclusion.
Indeed, the message displayed on infected computers was first written in Chinese and then translated into English. Then, using automatic translators, the hackers who hide behind this attack were able to get 26 texts written in different languages. The report also asserts that the English version is of better quality than a text drafted by an automatic translator.
Experts believe that random emails in foreign languages would have been translated into Google Translate by taking the text in English as a reference.
Finally, the message written in Chinese contains the word “libai,” a dialect version of the word “the week” which is often used in southern China and surrounding islands. Flashpoint, therefore, believes with high confidence that the language used for the ransom demand “is consistent with that used in the south of the country, in Hong Kong, Taiwan or Singapore,” but “familiar with English.” Except for Chinese language specialists, the presence of a dialect word such as “libai” can not be reliable evidence since it is also used in northern China.
In short, you will understand, we are still far from finding the person(s) responsible and even less the sponsors if there are any!
