Homeland Security Adviser Tom Bossert told reporters Monday at the White House press briefing that no federal computer systems were affected by this past weekend's ransom malware attack.
"As of today, no federal systems are affected," Bossert told reporters. "Overall, the U.S. infection rate has been lower than many parts of the world, but we may still see significant impacts in additional networks as these malware attacks morph and change."
Bossert's briefing came in the wake of this weekend's ransomware attack, in which the WannaCry software seized control of computers across the globe, encrypting files to hold them hostage in exchange for a ransom payment. The malware affected private individuals, businesses, government organizations in countries including Russia and China, and many hospitals in the British National Health Service.
While federal computer systems remained safe, Bossert made clear that the threat of the ransomware attack was being tracked and managed by the Department of Homeland Security on an ongoing basis.
"Secretary Kelly at the Department of Homeland Security continues to lead operations and public-private coordination," Bossert said. "His team is issuing twice daily situation reports, is holding multiple calls per day among experts and operation centers managing our response."
