A number of information security professionals in the US have sharply criticised The New York Times over an article it ran recently, claiming that a ransomware attack on local government offices in Baltimore, Maryland, was carried out through the use of a leaked NSA exploit known as EternalBlue.

A respected American security researcher says the FBI's advice, to reboot all routers in order to supposedly get rid of malware called VPNFilter, is "best described as moronic".