Contemporary · Europe · Technology

2017

WannaCry ransomware

May 12, 2017

A worm exploiting a stolen NSA tool spread across 150 countries in a single day, locking up British hospitals, German railways, and Russian ministries. North Korean hackers were eventually blamed. A 22-year-old security researcher accidentally killed it by registering a $10 domain name. The world's digital fragility was no longer theoretical.

More from 2017 Contemporary

In context

Also in 2017 (6 other events on record)

Trump's first inauguration · North America · Politics
Rohingya cleansed from Rakhine · Southeast Asia · War
#MeToo erupts · North America · Culture
Mosul liberated · Middle East · War
Grenfell Tower fire · Europe · Disaster
Charlottesville · North America · Politics

Before and after in Europe

Before: June 23, 2016: Brexit referendum
After: April 15, 2019: Notre-Dame burns

Before and after in Technology

Before: March 9, 2016: AlphaGo beats Lee Sedol
After: March 17, 2018: Cambridge Analytica scandal

Era

Contemporary (2001–2026), one of 196 events from that era on Saeculum.