Is Russia Really Fighting WannaCry Ransomware By Spraying Holy Water On Computers?

Short Bytes: Notorious WannaCry Ransomware has hit the computers at Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs. Coincidently, the same computers were blessed by Patriarch Kirill, Russia’s top religious official, in 2013. However, those old pictures are being circulated with fake stories like “Russian fighting WannaCry with holy water.”

First and foremost, let me tell you that the image shown above is from 2013. It’s becoming viral on social media and news websites are busy tagging it as a recent image. They are reporting that Putin has summoned top Russian priest to fight WannaCry ransomware.

The person shown in the picture is Patriarch Kirill, the country’s top-most priest. In 2013, he sprayed holy water over computers at the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Sadly, hackers were still able to attack those computers last week, The Sun reports.

Also Read: WannaCry Ransomware: Everything You Need To know & How To Protect Yourself

Apparently, it’s a common practice in Russia for Orthodox priests to bless server rooms and other technology equipment. So, it won’t be wrong to assume that priests might be really called in upcoming days to bless the computers once again. I just hope that priests would be careful enough to not get the water inside the PCs;  I’m sure that computer suppliers won’t be enthusiastic to replace damage due to water.

Coming back to Patriarch Kirill, he works closely with President Putin. In the past, Kirill has also called Putin a “miracle of God.” He has also blamed the rise of ISIS on gay pride parades. Moreover, he also sees gender equality as a sign of the apocalypse.

Meanwhile, here are some security tips to defeat WannaCry ransomware that Russian officers would find helpful. They are for everyone, so don’t hesitate in giving it a read.