'NotPetya' Malware: Security Experts Say Virus Attack is Different From Petya; More Countries Affected
New information from IT security experts says that the recent malware attacking large networks around the world is not Petya, thus naming it "NotPetya." Meanwhile, its havoc has now reached 65 countries.
Reports were quick to dub the new malware spreading across the globe earlier this week as "Petya" — a known worm that made headlines following a massive attack last year. However, as cyber security researchers dug deeper, they found more evidence showing it was a different kind of virus.
With that, Kaspersky Lab initiated a Twitter hashtag to spread information and referred to the malware as "NotPetya." In a statement, the company explained that the new wave of malware is an all-new type and "not a variant of Petya ransomware."
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However, the NotPetya malware also resembles the vicious WannaCry ransomware in several ways. For one, they both have the same history of how the attacks started — through the EternalBlue exploit.
Many believe that EternalBlue is one of the vulnerabilities hidden away by the National Security Agency that was hacked later on by the group responsible for the WannaCry worldwide attack.
Just like WannaCry, the NotPetya malware encrypts both the files and the entire computer system of infected machines thus causing servers and networks of private corporations and government organizations to shut down.
Making it worse, Kaspersky Lab also issued a report showing that the NotPetya problem is specifically not a ransomware but a wiper. Codes and installation IDs discovered by Kaspersky Lab showed: "This is the worst-case news for the victims – even if they pay the ransom they will not get their data back."
Kaspersky Lab then reiterated previous hunches by other security analysts that the newest wave of attack is not financially motivated — it aimed to simply cause chaos.
The speed that the NotPetya virus takes to spread is notable. On Tuesday, there were only six countries where attacks were reported starting with the Ukraine, though around 12,500 machines had already been infected. The following day, reports said it had already spread across 65 countries around the world.
Earlier this week, networks in the Ukraine, Russia, other parts of Europe, United States, and Australia had reportedly been infected or taken down by the NotPetya worm. Some of the companies or institutions affected were the global shipping firm Maersk, a Cadbury factory in Tasmania, Chernobyl nuclear power plant and more.
