The attack resulted in some hospitals canceling operations and appointments because critical patient data could not be accessed.

On May 12, 2017, thousands of companies across the globe saw the first signs of a prolific malware outbreak. The malware, a ransomware variant labeled WannaCry, is capable of encrypting files on a device and moving laterally to encrypt files on associated file shares. On average, the ransom amount that is demanded is the equivalent of $300 in bitcoin. Early reports indicate the ransomware, which may function in 27 different languages, encrypted data on more than 75,000 systems in 99 countries. Russia, Ukraine, India and Taiwan appear to have been the hardest hit. The attack resulted in some hospitals canceling operations and appointments because critical patient data could not be accessed.