WannaCry kill switch under nonstop botnet attack by hackers attempting to reignite ransomware

After crippling computers across various sectors ranging from healthcare to transportation in as many as 150 countries, the WannaCry ransomware is now in a dormant state after an accidental "kill switch" pulled the plug on its spread.

Now, some devious hackers are launching punishing assault on that kill switch with variants of the infamous Mirai botnet, which knocked off major websites last year, including Spotify, Reddit and The New York Times. Cyber-security experts have managed to defend against the attacks so far. However, if successful, the hackers could make the WannaCry ransomware start spreading once again.

The WannaCry kill switch was nothing but a random-looking web address, which was included in the malware's code. Whenever WannaCry infects a computer, it first tries to reach out to the domain to check whether it is active, and if it is, the ransomware assumes it is being inspected, and becomes inactive.