WannaCry ransomware now affecting Australia’s traffic cameras

Remember WannaCry? The fearsome ransomware package that infected over 250 000 computers in 150 countries earlier this year?

Well, it’s back, but not in the way you might’ve been expecting.

According to a report by The Guardian, around 55 traffic cameras in the Australian state of Victoria have been affected by the virus.

While the cameras have been operating normally, notes the Victorian department of justice, those found to have been handed incorrect fines, they will be scratched from the system.

How nice.

In May 2017, WannaCry ripped through the world’s unpatched Windows machines, locking users out of their devices and forcing them to pay a ransom to regain access to their devices and data.

While the ransomware’s spread has since been quelled, there are still instances alive in the wild.

Just ask Japanese car manufacturer Honda, which this week temporarily shut down a manufacturing plant because of WannaCry.