Ransomware

Making it obvious that the cyber space is not safe, Petya cyber attack hits companies in Europe, the Middle East and the US on Tuesday,  creating terror of ransomware and safety measures. The cyber attack lock down the computer from working displaying a ransom note demanding $300 (£235). The widespread attack were seen and felt in Russia and Ukraine in a more concerned way.

In the latest buzz on Wednesday  around 2,000 users across the globe have been attacked with ransomware. The current cyber attack has been targeted for  60 percent  in Ukraine and 30 percent in Russia where  large oil company have been strategically targeted.

It was reported that the virus even downed systems at the site of the former Chernobyl nuclear power plant in northern Ukraine, forcing scientists to manually monitor radiation levels at the site of a 1986 disaster that released massive amounts of radioactive material. Likewise companies in Belarus were also hit, the country’s Interior Ministry said Wednesday. It said infected files were being sent under the guise of CVs, financial reports and other documents, or disguised as archives containing documents.

Cyberattacks also spread as far as India and the United States, where the pharmaceutical giant Merck reported on Twitter that “our company’s computer network was compromised today as part of global hack.” The New Jersey-based company said it was investigating the attack.

The Petya-like malware, like WannaCry, is a worm that spreads quickly to vulnerable systems, said Bill Wright, senior policy counsel for Symantec, the world’s largest cyber­ security firm. Its pervasiveness is what makes it difficult to control — or to aim at anyone in particular, he said.