North Korea blamed by US for massive WannaCry cyber attack
The US has publicly blamed North Korea for the WannaCry cyber attack which hit the NHS and networks around the world earlier this year.
Tom Bossert, President Donald Trump's homeland security adviser, said the country was "directly responsible" for the ransomware that was "widespread and cost billions."
Bossert was writing in the Wall Street Journal as Trump unveiled a new US national security strategy, which includes strengthening the country's cyber defence capabilities.
"After careful investigation, the US today publicly attributes the massive WannaCry cyber attack to North Korea," the adviser wrote.
Home Office minister Ben Wallace said in October the UK Government believed "strongly" that North Korea was behind the cyber attack.
Pyongyang had been widely blamed for WannaCry in security circles, and Microsoft's president, Brad Smith, also pointed the finger at Kim Jong Un's repressive regime.
The attack, which began on May 12, is believed to have infected machines at 81 health trusts across England - a third of the 236 total, plus computers at almost 600 GP surgeries, according to a National Audit Office (NAO) report.
The probe found that almost 19,500 medical appointments, including 139 potential cancer referrals, were estimated to have been cancelled, with five hospitals having to divert ambulances away after being locked out of computers.
However the report found the attack could have been prevented if "basic IT security" measures had been taken.
All infected machines were running computer systems - the majority Windows 7 - that had not been updated to secure them against such attacks.
Wallace suggested the attack could have been motivated by an attempt by the economically isolated North Korean state to access foreign funds.