In China, 18,000 IP addresses attacked, and universities among the hardest hit TOKYO - Global cyber chaos was spreading on Monday as companies booted up computers at work following the weekend's worldwide ransomware cyberattack. The extortion scheme created chaos in 150 countries and could wreak even greater havoc as more malicious variations appear. The initial attack, known as "WannaCry", paralyzed computers running the United Kingdom's hospital network, Germany's national railway and scores of other companies and government agencies around the world. As a loose global network of cybersecurity experts fought the ransomware hackers, Chinese media said 29,372 institutions had been infected along with hundreds of thousands of devices. The Japan Computer Emergency Response Team Coordination Center, a nonprofit providing support for computer attacks, said 2,000 computers at 600 locations in Japan were reported affected so far. Government agencies said they were unaffected. Companies such as Hitachi and Nissan Motor reported problems they said had not seriously affected their business operations. In China, about 18,000 IP addresses in China have been confirmed as infected with the "WannaCry" ransomware. Universities and other educational institutions were among the hardest hit, Xinhua reported. That may be because schools tend to have old computers and be slow about updates of operating systems and security, said Fang Xingdong, founder of ChinaLabs, an internet strategy think tank. Railway stations, mail delivery, gas stations, hospitals, office buildings, shopping malls and government services also were affected, Xinhua said, citing Qihoo 360, a Chinese internet security services company. But the spread of the ransomware is ongoing, but is slowing down, the Cyberspace Administration of China said in a statement. Elsewhere in Asia, officials in Japan and the Republic of Korea said they believed security updates had helped ward off the worst of the impact. The most public damage in the ROK was to cinema chain CJ CGV Co. It was restoring its advertising servers at dozens of theaters after the attack left the company unable to display trailers of upcoming movies. The attack was disrupting computers that run factories, banks, government agencies and transport systems in scores of countries, including Russia, Ukraine, Brazil, Spain, India and Japan, among others. Russia's Interior Ministry and companies including Spain's Telefonica, FedEx in the United States and French carmaker Renault all reported troubles. Experts were urging organizations and companies to immediately update older Microsoft operating systems, such as Windows XP, with a patch released by Microsoft to limit vulnerability to a more powerful version of the malware or to future versions that can't be stopped. Paying the ransom will not ensure any fix, said Eiichi Moriya, a cybersecurity expert and professor at Meiji University. "You are dealing with a criminal," he said. "It's like after a robber enters your home. You can change the locks but what has happened cannot be undone. If someone kidnaps your child, you may pay your ransom but there is no guarantee your child will return." Xinhua-AP-AFP-Reuters logo braceletsglow in the dark wristbands ukprinted braceletswristband design24hr wristbandmotivational bracelets for athleteswristband creationbracelet maker onlineprinted wristbands
WANG WENJIN/CHINA NEWS SERVICE More than 80 people with the surname Zhang traveled from Taiwan to Xiamen, Fujian, in August to discover their roots. People are studying their family trees and age-old stories in the hope of reconnecting with long-lost relatives. Zhang Yi reports from Xiamen, Fujian. On June 9, Huang Ching-hsiung woke at about 3 am in his hotel bed in Xiamen, Fujian province. He was too excited to sleep. At daybreak, he was one of a group of 11 members of his family that set out to visit Pujin, a village two hours from downtown Xiamen by road. The settlement has the same name as Huang's home village in Lugang town, Changhua, Taiwan, and most of the residents are named Huang. The Huangs on Taiwan are direct descendents of settlers who arrived on the island centuries ago. Several batches of Fujian residents moved to Taiwan during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) in the hope of making their fortunes, and those who were members of the same family banded together as they fought to make new lives. They named the places they settled after their hometowns and retained the customs they had brought from the mainland. Roughly 80 percent of Taiwan residents share blood ties with people from Fujian. About 110 settlements on either side of the Taiwan Straits that share the same village and family names have established official exchange programs, according to the Fujian-Taiwan Compatriots' Association. In the 1980s, the descendants of those early settlers started visiting the mainland to discover their roots, inspired by family histories passed down through generations. Place your feet on the land our ancestors came from, Huang's father told him, shortly before he died 12 years ago.
