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Jun 27
Petya: A New Ransomware Attack
Posted by Eden Penman

Only 46 days after the WannaCry ransomware attack began a new threat has emerged, and appears to be spreading quickly. "Researchers with multiple firms identified the ransomware as Petya, malware that makes computers inoperable by encrypting their hard drives and demands ransoms in exchange for a digital key to restore access." [Reuters] 

So far, Petya has targeted Russia's biggest oil company, numerous global banks ( including Russia’s Rosneft and Ukraine’s Oschadbank), Ukraine's international airport as well as global shipping firm A.P. Moller-Maersk. Reports indicate Petya, like WannaCry, is using leaked NSA expliot- EternalBlue - to spread. 

F-Secure Chief Research Officer Mikko Hypponen anticipates this outbreak will reach the Americas soon, and "could hit the U.S.A pretty bad". 

This new attack highlighrs the importance of security for businesses today. It appears many governments and companies around the world did not take action to patch their systems after the WannaCry attack, and have remained vulnerable to a new ransomware. Learn more about reducing your risk and minimizing impacts of ransomware attacks here

Written By: Eden Penman, LookingPoint Marketing Manager

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