Just a few weeks ago, WannaCry Ransomware was being talked about everywhere. It was the scariest nightmare for the corporate biggies that never really cared about upgrading to a better OS on their computers.
Fortunately, it was over in a few days. You can read about it in detail here.
A new Ransomware is emerging from Ukraine right now, affecting the Computers of Government offices, Banks and Electricity suppliers.
A supermarket in Ukraine.
The country is under cyberattack.
via @golub pic.twitter.com/jETUuCPcqn— вареничок.еріставі 🇺🇦🏳️🌈 (@maksymeristavi) June 27, 2017
According to Kaspersky’s Costin Raiu, about 60% infections have been recorded in Ukraine, followed by 30% in Russia. The other countries affected by Petya are USA, Poland, Germany, UK, and France
Since it’s also a Ransomware, the attackers demand $300 in Bitcoin transactions.
According to Kaspersky, about 7 payments have been associated with the Ransomware.
What is Petya Ransomware?
The Ransomware that is currently affecting the computers worldwide and many media outlets claiming it to be Petya is actually not Petya but a completely different virus.
This has been clarified by Kaspersky, an Anti-Virus company.
Other Anti-Virus companies like Avira and Symantec have confirmed that Petya is using the External Blue exploit like the Wanna Cry ransomeware.
How does it a Ransomware work?
Usually, the File encryption is a good feature introduced in Windows computers, to keep your files secure, but it can also be used against you.
Locking your house is a feature and is meant to keep your house secure. Now Imagine someone else locks up your house and keeps the key to themselves, and then asks you for a certain amount to give you the keys. The same feature works for you.
Now Imagine someone else locks up your house and keeps the key to themselves, and then asks you for a certain amount to give you the keys. The same feature works for you.
This is the case with Ransomware.
How did it spread?
The ransomware started spreading early Tuesday morning, 27th June, in Ukraine.
It started off when businesses downloaded the latest update to their MEDoc software, which is a financial-monitoring application commonly used in Ukraine.
The software isn’t itself at fault, however. Someone apparently broke into its servers and released the new and infected software update without the company’s knowledge.
According to Kaspersky Lab, the Petya malware is also hidden inside Ukranian websites, possibly to infect any visitors via drive-by-downloads.
How is it worse than WannaCry Ransomware?
The WannaCry ransomware had an evil motive of making money, but this new virus, Petya isn;t actually a ransomware.
It is said to be created by Russian Hackers to destroy the economy of Ukraine.
The computers affected have not been contacted by anyone for any kind of payment, which makes it far worse since you cannot save your files at all.
In fact, the updated information about Petya claims that it is not a Ransomware, but is out to destroy your data in a way that it becomes impossible to get it back.
So, it’s actually a Wiper, not a Ransomware.
How to stop Petya from affecting your PC?
Even though there has been no patch found to stop Petya from affecting a Computer, there are ways to keep this virus at bay.
Some reports have been claiming that the Petya virus needs a computer to be rebooted in order to encrypt of Hard Drive.
