Petya Ransomware Attack: What it is and How To Protect Your Business
Tuesday, June 27, 2017 was no ordinary day for banks and businesses in Kiev, Ukraine. Government and business computer systems were infected by a virus known as “Petya” after users downloaded a popular tax accounting package or visited a local news site, according to the national police and international cyber experts. “The malicious code locked machines and demanded victims post a ransom worth $300 in bitcoins or lose their data entirely, similar to the extortion tactic used in the global WannaCry ransomware attack in May,” says Reuters.
Which companies have been affected by the Petya ransomware?
There are many companies that have been affected by the Petra ransomware. The attack started with local businesses in Ukraine to infecting computers worldwide. In Kiev, “ATMs stopped working. About 80 miles away, workers were forced to manually monitor radiation at the old Chernobyl nuclear plant when their computers failed.” Then the attack went global. “Tech managers at companies around the world — from Maersk, the Danish shipping conglomerate, to Merck, the drug giant in the United States — were scrambling to respond. Even an Australian factory for the chocolate giant Cadbury was affected,” according to the New York Times. Here is a list of companies that have been affected by the attack.
- DLA Piper
- Evraz
- Heritage Valley Health Systems
- Home Credit Bank
- Kievenergo
- Maersk
- M.E.Doc
- Merck & Co., Inc.
- Metro Group
- Mondelez
- Nuance Communications Inc.
- Rosneft
- Ukrtelecom
- Saint-Gobain
- WPP
How can my company fight against ransomware?
According to theguardian, “Ransomware is a type of malware that blocks access to a computer or its data and demands money to release it. When a computer is infected, the ransomware encrypts important documents and files and then demands a ransom, typically in Bitcoin, for a digital key needed to unlock the files. If victims don’t have a recent backup of the files they must either pay the ransom or face losing all of their files.”
How can you protect your company against ransomware? Well, there are a few things you can do. One way is to ensure you have the latest version of your antivirus software installed. Some antivirus companies like Symantec and Kaspersky have already upgraded their software to help you fight against Petya and will notify you if there is a threat to your computer.
Another way to protect your business from ransomware is to download patches. Microsoft, for instance, released critical patches in March that can remove the Petya vulnerability and help fight against future attacks. If you’d like to see more ways you can protect your business, Jonathan Care, research director at Gartner, gives seven suggestions for preventing attacks and protecting your organization. Additionally, always backup your data and have the backup protected.
As we’ve seen with Petya, cyber attacks pop up unexpectedly. That’s why we are so scrupulous about security at Commercient — we have a rigorous security review process. For example, our Sync2Pay solution can take Level 3 payments and allow you to take quicker payments in your ERP, CRM, or eCommerce systems which ensures less fraud.
