“Today, early afternoon (CEST), ESET researchers have begun investigating another massive
global ransomware epidemic following the WannaCry and XData/AES-NI outbreaks.
Numerous reports are coming out on social media
about a new ransomware attack in Ukraine, which could be related to the Petya family,
which is currently detected by ESET as Win32/Diskcoder.C Trojan. If it
successfully infects the MBR, it will encrypt the whole drive itself.
Otherwise, it encrypts all files, like Mischa.
For spreading, it appears to be using a combination
of the SMB exploit (EternalBlue) used by WannaCryptor for
getting inside the network, then spreading through PsExec for spreading within
the network.
This dangerous combination may be the reason why
this outbreak has spread globally and rapidly, even after the previous
outbreaks have generated media headlines and hopefully most vulnerabilities
have been patched. It only takes one unpatched computer to get inside the
network, and the malware can get administrator rights and spread to other
computers.
The journalist Christian Borys, for example, tweeted
that the cyberattack has “allegedly hit” banks, power grid and postal
companies, among others. Moreover, it appears that the government has also come
under attack. Borys has also tweeted an image put up on Facebook by Ukraine’s
deputy prime minister, Pavlo Rozenko, which shows a computer apparently being
encrypted.
The National Bank of Ukraine has also put out a message
on its website warning other banks of the ransomware attack.
It stated: “Currently, the financial sector
strengthened security measures and counter hacker attacks all financial market
participants.”
Forbes said
that while there appear to be similarities with WannaCryptor – with others
describing it as WannaCry-esque – it is likely to be a variant of Petya.
An image, similar to the one witnessed by
WannaCryptor victims, reportedly showing the ransomware message is making the
rounds online, with one from Group-IB
showing the following message (paraphrased):
“If you see this text, then your files are no
longer accessible, because they have been encrypted … We guarantee that you can
recover all your files safely and easily. All you need to do is submit the
payment [$300 bitcoins] and purchase the decryption key.”
Also confirming a security incident is Ukrenergo, a
Ukrainian state power distributor, Reuters
has noted.
However, a spokesman said that “there is no effect
on power supplies”, although it may be too early to ascertain this.
It appears that the ransomware attack is not
specific to Ukraine. The Independent
said that Spain and India may also have been affected, as well as the Danish
shipping company Maersk and the British advertising company WPP.
On the latter’s homepage, the following message
reads: “The WPP web site is currently unavailable due to important routine
maintenance normal service will resume shortly.
“We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.
In the meantime if you would like to contact WPP, please email the site Editor
at the following address …”
WPP has since confirmed on Twitter
that it has been the victim of an attack: “IT systems in several WPP companies
have been affected by a suspected cyberattack. We are taking appropriate
measures & will update asap.”
There are also reports that payments are being made
in response to the attack, at the BTC address linked here.
For more on Petya, check out this insightful
piece from 2016, which notes of the crypto-ransomware:
“Petya
took an approach different from that of other crypto-ransomware. Instead of
encrypting files individually, it aimed at the file system.
“The target is the victim’s master boot record
(MBR)which is responsible for loading the operating system right after system
boot.”
This is currently a breaking story. Further updates
to come.