A wave of cyberattacks have hit Russia, Ukraine, western Europe and North America in the second global outbreak of ransomware in less than two months.
On Tuesday, Ukraine's central bank, Kiev's main airport, the Chernobyl nuclear disaster site, and multinational firms like US pharmaceutical giant Merck, Russian state oil Rosneft, UK advertising giant WPP were among the victims.
The virus is similar in its demands to the WannaCry ransomware that hit more than 200,000 users in over 150 countries, locking up files for money.
Some identified the newcomer as a modified version of the Petya ransomware circulated last year, but cybersecurity firm Kaspersky Lab described it as a new form, and estimated the number of victims at around 2,000 and spreading. ■
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