The virus even downed systems at the site of the former Chernobyl nuclear power plant , forcing scientists to monitor radiation levels manually . Cyberattacks also spread as far as India and the United States , where the pharmaceutical giant Merck reported on Twitter that “ our company ’ s computer network was compromised today as part of global hack. ” The New Jersey-based company said it was investigating the attack . Cyber researchers say that the virus , which was linked to malware called Petrwrap or Petya , used an “ exploit ” developed by the National Security Agency that was later l eaked Attack.Databreachonto the Internet by hackers . It is the second massive attack in the past two months to turn powerful U.S. exploits against the IT infrastructure that supports national governments and corporations . The onslaught of r ansomware attacks Attack.Ransommay be the “ new normal , ” said Mark Graff , the chief executive of Tellagraff , a cybersecurity company . “ The emergence of Petya and WannaCry really points out the need for a response plan and a policy on what companies are going to do about ransomware , ” he said . T he attack Attack.Ransommainly targeted Eastern Europe but also h it Attack.Ransomcompanies in Spain , Denmark , Norway and Britain . Victims included the British advertising and marketing multinational WPP and a shipping company , APM Terminals , based at the port of Rotterdam . But the damage was worst in Ukraine . Researchers at Kaspersky Lab ’ s Global Research and Analysis Team , in Russia , estimated that 60 percent of infected computers were in Ukraine and 30 percent in Russia . The hacks targeted government ministries , banks , utilities and other important infrastructure and companies nationwide , d emanding ransoms Attack.Ransomfrom government employees in the cryptocurrency bitcoin . The hacks ’ scale and the use of ransomware recalled the massive cyberattack in May in which hackers possibly linked to North Korea disabled computers in more than 150 nations using a flaw that was once incorporated into the National Security Agency ’ s surveillance tool kit . Cyber researchers have tied the vulnerability exploited by Petya to the one used by WannaCry — a weakness d iscovered Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerabilityby the NSA years ago that the agency turned into a hacking tool dubbed EternalBlue . Petya , like WannaCry , is a worm that spreads quickly to vulnerable systems , said Bill Wright , senior policy counsel for Symantec , the world ’ s largest cybersecurity firm . But that makes it difficult to control — or to aim at anyone in particular , he said . “ Once you unleash something that propagates in this manner , it ’ s impossible to control , ” he said . Although Microsoft in March m ade available Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerabilitya patch for the Windows flaw that EternalBlue exploited , Petya uses other techniques to infect systems , said Jeff Greene , Symantec government affairs director .
The spread of ransomware means government and critical infrastructure providers need to start gaming out responses , cyber watchers say . A cadre of shadowy criminal hackers seizes control of an energy plant . They give themselves administrator privileges and lock the genuine administrators out along with everyone else . Then , they threaten to trigger a major leak or explosion if the plant owners don ’ t p ay up:Attack.Ransom$ 50 million in bitcoin . The story sounds like a fantastical Hollywood plot . It ’ s basically a digital-age riff on the 1965 James Bond Film “ Thunderball ” and the 1997 spoof “ Austin Powers : International Man of Mystery. ” Yet , following a surge in r ansomware attacks—Attack.Ransomin which hackers seize and lock an organization ’ s data and networks and only unlock them for a hefty fee—cyber watchers are beginning to fear this plot could become reality . “ What ransomware does is it creates a business model [ in which ] anybody who has money can potentially b e extorted to pay,Attack.Ransom” McAfee Chief Technology Officer Steve Grobman told reporters during a roundtable discussion Thursday at McAfee ’ s Security Through Innovation Summit . “ There ’ s no reason not to think that criminals will see government assets like critical infrastructure as a target they can h old for ransom,Attack.Ransom” Grobman added . If hackers were able to seize the controls of a critical infrastructure asset such as a dam or airport where they could cause major property destruction and loss of life , t he ransom demand Attack.Ransomcould be huge , Grobman said , and there ’ s a good chance the asset owner or the government w ould have to pay up.Attack.RansomCritical infrastructure is an official designation the Homeland Security Department uses to refer to 16 sectors such as chemical plants and financial firms whose physical and digital security is vital for national security and public safety . McAfee has been tracking r ansomware attacks Attack.Ransomfor years as they progressed from e xtorting Attack.Ransom$ 100 or $ 200 from individuals who clicked the wrong link to “ soft targets ” such as hospitals , universities and police stations to some of the major global corporations the antivirus firm counts among its customers . There ’ s no reason to think government agencies or critical infrastructure providers won ’ t be next on the list , he said . John Felker , director of the DHS ’ main cybersecurity nerve center , the National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center , shares Grobman ’ s concerns . “ What Steve is seeing is on the front edge of what is going on , [ so ] we do need to have some concern . I ’ m probably going to have a chat with the folks at the fort about that , ” he said during the same roundtable , referring to the National Security Agency ’ s home in Fort Meade , Maryland . While r ansomware attacks Attack.Ransomagainst local governments are a common problem across the globe , NCCIC has not been called in on a ransomware attack Attack.Ransomagainst the federal government that threatened major destruction , Felker said . When it comes to critical infrastructure , the major cyber fear has typically been an attack by an adversary nation or terrorist group looking to cause destruction and mayhem . For traditional criminal hackers interested in s tealing Attack.Databreachmarketable information such as credit card numbers , these targets held little interest . Industrial systems such as dams are further protected because they operate using comparatively obscure industrial control systems not typically in the wheelhouse of hackers used to manipulating consumer software . For ransomware attackers , however , industrial targets could prove lucrative because a hacker that controlled them would have the power to unleash terrible consequences if t he ransom wasn’t paid,Attack.RansomGrobman said , such as opening that New York dam ’ s floodgates . Criminals also operate with a different calculus than nation-states , which makes them more difficult to deter , Grobman said . The Justice Department has indicted hackers linked to the Chinese and Iranian governments , which caused public embarrassment . The Obama administration also sanctioned North Korean officials for the Sony Pictures Entertainment hack and Russian officials for meddling in the 2016 election . Then-President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden also insinuated the government took covert actions against Russia for that meddling . A criminal or criminal group that didn ’ t expect to be caught , however , would be less susceptible to public embarrassment , immune to diplomatic pressure and much more difficult to target with covert action . The remedy , Grobman said , is for the government and critical infrastructure providers to plan ahead , both by securing their systems and gaming out how they would respond to a ransomware attack.Attack.Ransom“ How do we get the defenses in place before the breach occurs , ” he said , “ so we don ’ t have the consequences that we saw in things like [ the Office of Personnel Management breach ] where , because we didn ’ t invest in the security up front , the cost of the breach was significantly higher . ”
The spread of ransomware means government and critical infrastructure providers need to start gaming out responses , cyber watchers say . A cadre of shadowy criminal hackers seizes control of an energy plant . They give themselves administrator privileges and lock the genuine administrators out along with everyone else . Then , they threaten to trigger a major leak or explosion if the plant owners don ’ t p ay up:Attack.Ransom$ 50 million in bitcoin . The story sounds like a fantastical Hollywood plot . It ’ s basically a digital-age riff on the 1965 James Bond Film “ Thunderball ” and the 1997 spoof “ Austin Powers : International Man of Mystery. ” Yet , following a surge in r ansomware attacks—Attack.Ransomin which hackers seize and lock an organization ’ s data and networks and only unlock them for a hefty fee—cyber watchers are beginning to fear this plot could become reality . “ What ransomware does is it creates a business model [ in which ] anybody who has money can potentially b e extorted to pay,Attack.Ransom” McAfee Chief Technology Officer Steve Grobman told reporters during a roundtable discussion Thursday at McAfee ’ s Security Through Innovation Summit . “ There ’ s no reason not to think that criminals will see government assets like critical infrastructure as a target they can h old for ransom,Attack.Ransom” Grobman added . If hackers were able to seize the controls of a critical infrastructure asset such as a dam or airport where they could cause major property destruction and loss of life , t he ransom demand Attack.Ransomcould be huge , Grobman said , and there ’ s a good chance the asset owner or the government w ould have to pay up.Attack.RansomCritical infrastructure is an official designation the Homeland Security Department uses to refer to 16 sectors such as chemical plants and financial firms whose physical and digital security is vital for national security and public safety . McAfee has been tracking r ansomware attacks Attack.Ransomfor years as they progressed from e xtorting Attack.Ransom$ 100 or $ 200 from individuals who clicked the wrong link to “ soft targets ” such as hospitals , universities and police stations to some of the major global corporations the antivirus firm counts among its customers . There ’ s no reason to think government agencies or critical infrastructure providers won ’ t be next on the list , he said . John Felker , director of the DHS ’ main cybersecurity nerve center , the National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center , shares Grobman ’ s concerns . “ What Steve is seeing is on the front edge of what is going on , [ so ] we do need to have some concern . I ’ m probably going to have a chat with the folks at the fort about that , ” he said during the same roundtable , referring to the National Security Agency ’ s home in Fort Meade , Maryland . While r ansomware attacks Attack.Ransomagainst local governments are a common problem across the globe , NCCIC has not been called in on a ransomware attack Attack.Ransomagainst the federal government that threatened major destruction , Felker said . When it comes to critical infrastructure , the major cyber fear has typically been an attack by an adversary nation or terrorist group looking to cause destruction and mayhem . For traditional criminal hackers interested in s tealing Attack.Databreachmarketable information such as credit card numbers , these targets held little interest . Industrial systems such as dams are further protected because they operate using comparatively obscure industrial control systems not typically in the wheelhouse of hackers used to manipulating consumer software . For ransomware attackers , however , industrial targets could prove lucrative because a hacker that controlled them would have the power to unleash terrible consequences if t he ransom wasn’t paid,Attack.RansomGrobman said , such as opening that New York dam ’ s floodgates . Criminals also operate with a different calculus than nation-states , which makes them more difficult to deter , Grobman said . The Justice Department has indicted hackers linked to the Chinese and Iranian governments , which caused public embarrassment . The Obama administration also sanctioned North Korean officials for the Sony Pictures Entertainment hack and Russian officials for meddling in the 2016 election . Then-President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden also insinuated the government took covert actions against Russia for that meddling . A criminal or criminal group that didn ’ t expect to be caught , however , would be less susceptible to public embarrassment , immune to diplomatic pressure and much more difficult to target with covert action . The remedy , Grobman said , is for the government and critical infrastructure providers to plan ahead , both by securing their systems and gaming out how they would respond to a ransomware attack.Attack.Ransom“ How do we get the defenses in place before the breach occurs , ” he said , “ so we don ’ t have the consequences that we saw in things like [ the Office of Personnel Management breach ] where , because we didn ’ t invest in the security up front , the cost of the breach was significantly higher . ”