Global cyber attack is a new version of the 'Wannacry' virus that took down the NHS, Ukrainian official says
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.An adviser to Ukraine's interior minister said a version of the "WannaCry" ransomware had caused outages on government websites and those of several companies, a cyber attack he called the worst in Ukraine's history.
The hack began in the country but has since spread across the world, hitting companies as widely as Danish shipping company Maersk and British advertising company WPP, the biggest in the world.
Adviser Anton Gerashchenko said Ukrainian IT systems had been targeted with "Cryptolocker" a version of WannaCry, the virus that locked up more than 200,000 computers in more than 150 countries in May.
"The ultimate goal of the cyberattack was to try to destabilise," he wrote in a post on Facebook in which he said the attacks probably originated from Russia.
The Wannacry attack is most famous for locking down NHS computers and causing havoc in hospitals and doctors surgeries across Britain. But its effect was much wider and more international, and the virus spread quickly across the world.
Like that attack, it appears to be an example of ransomware – screenshots show people's computers being locked down and showing only a message asking for money, after which the virus promises the computer will be unlocked.
The world is still recovering from that attack, which was launched using modified versions of tools that were originally made by the US National Security Agency and was leaked onto the internet.
Additional reporting by agencies
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments