It had an enormous effect, it was really worldwide front page news for at least several days in a way that computer attacks had not been in the past.

Michael Vatis

In a very short period of time, we ended up identifying individuals in the Philippines and seeking the assistance of Philippine law enforcement, and a very short time after that, the Philippine authorities ultimately made an arrest.

It hit home in a way that other previous attacks did not, it made people aware that this is not just something that happens to defense agencies or owners of websites, this is something that can happen to any Joe or Jane sitting at home on the computer or in the office, and it can shut you down and really disrupt your ability to operate.

Humans are always the weak link, it's almost always easier to exploit a human through some social engineering gambit than it is to crack, you know, some technological defensive measure.

That's not a problem for society as a whole until the vaccination rate drops below a certain percentage, and then you have a lot of people getting really sick.