Researcher Creates Tool to Unlock WannaCry-Infected Windows XP Files

A French security researcher has reportedly found a potential rescue tool for Windows XP WannaCry victims after discovering a flaw in the malware, according to various published reports.

Adrien Guinet of QuarksLab in Paris released a potential fix in Github, which relies on snagging private key traces from the infected computer's memory to decrypt the files, according to a report in Wired. But there is a caveat: the potential fix may fail if the malware, or other processes, overwrote the decryption key traces, or if the user rebooted the computer after the infection, according to Wired.

Other security researchers have had mixed results in testing Guinet's WannaCry workaround, with some saying it did not work when they tested it and others noting Guinet appears to have found a legitimate flaw in WannaCry.

Read more about Guinet here.