The second cyberattack in as many months that struck
systems around the world was more sophisticated than
the first one and is still spreading, Europol has said.
It says companies and governments are being targeted by
an updated version of a known virus.
Tuesday's attack, believed to have started in Ukraine,
brought disruption to major organisations including the
Chernobyl radiation monitoring system, European bank BNP
Paribas, advertising firm WPP and parts of the Ukrainian
government computer system.
The Danish owner of the world's largest container shipper
Maersk Line said its computer systems were also affected,
causing problems with processing orders and delaying
cargoes.
It came just weeks after the NHS was crippled by a cyber attack.
Europol, which helps EU member states fight international
crime, said the attack is still ongoing and it is monitoring the
spread of the virus.
More than a day after it first struck, companies around the
world are still wrestling with the fallout while cybersecurity
experts worked round the clock to find a way to stem the
spread.
Europol executive director Rob Wainwright said: "This is
another serious ransomware attack with global impact,
although the number of victims is not yet known.
"There are clear similarities with the WannaCry attack, but
also indications of a more sophisticated attack capability,
intended to exploit a range of vulnerabilities.
"It is a demonstration of how cybercrime evolves."
Europol says there are close links to the Petrwrap virus - a
type of malware believed to be behind the latest attack.
However, global security firm Kaspersky Lab said the attack
was a new form of malware that shared similarities to the
malware but also "possesses entirely different functionality".
Kaspersky said the virus had attacked around 2,000
organisations and businesses so far with Ukraine and Russia
the worst affected although Poland, Italy, the UK, Germany,
France, Denmark, Norway, India, Australia and the US were
also hit.
In the attack, the virus encrypted computer files and
demands payment of £235 ransom in the online currency
Bitcoin for the return of the data.
WPP said that a day after its system was struck it was still
trying to restore some of its services.
The company said: "Having taken steps to contain the attack,
the priority now is to return to normal as soon as possible
while protecting our systems."
A BNP Paribas spokeswoman said: "The necessary measures
were taken rapidly to contain this attack."
systems around the world was more sophisticated than
the first one and is still spreading, Europol has said.
It says companies and governments are being targeted by
an updated version of a known virus.
Tuesday's attack, believed to have started in Ukraine,
brought disruption to major organisations including the
Chernobyl radiation monitoring system, European bank BNP
Paribas, advertising firm WPP and parts of the Ukrainian
government computer system.
The Danish owner of the world's largest container shipper
Maersk Line said its computer systems were also affected,
causing problems with processing orders and delaying
cargoes.
It came just weeks after the NHS was crippled by a cyber attack.
Europol, which helps EU member states fight international
crime, said the attack is still ongoing and it is monitoring the
spread of the virus.
More than a day after it first struck, companies around the
world are still wrestling with the fallout while cybersecurity
experts worked round the clock to find a way to stem the
spread.
Europol executive director Rob Wainwright said: "This is
another serious ransomware attack with global impact,
although the number of victims is not yet known.
"There are clear similarities with the WannaCry attack, but
also indications of a more sophisticated attack capability,
intended to exploit a range of vulnerabilities.
"It is a demonstration of how cybercrime evolves."
Europol says there are close links to the Petrwrap virus - a
type of malware believed to be behind the latest attack.
However, global security firm Kaspersky Lab said the attack
was a new form of malware that shared similarities to the
malware but also "possesses entirely different functionality".
Kaspersky said the virus had attacked around 2,000
organisations and businesses so far with Ukraine and Russia
the worst affected although Poland, Italy, the UK, Germany,
France, Denmark, Norway, India, Australia and the US were
also hit.
In the attack, the virus encrypted computer files and
demands payment of £235 ransom in the online currency
Bitcoin for the return of the data.
WPP said that a day after its system was struck it was still
trying to restore some of its services.
The company said: "Having taken steps to contain the attack,
the priority now is to return to normal as soon as possible
while protecting our systems."
A BNP Paribas spokeswoman said: "The necessary measures
were taken rapidly to contain this attack."
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