Petya Or NotPetya: This Ransomware Attack Is Much Worse Than Wannacry

Last month, it was Wannacry that brought Britain's health service to a standstill. Several companies were also attacked by this piece of ransomware.

On Tuesday, we saw yet another massive ransomware attack, and this time it hit businesses, major port operators and government systems the world over. All those hit have been struggling to take back control of their systems ever since.

But if WannaCry left them teary eyed, this attack could prove to be a lot more devastating. Experts BloombergQuint spoke to say this virus is wiser, more potent and virulent than its predecessor. Although this new piece of ransomware uses the same exploit as Wannacry called ETERNALBLUE to enter a computer system, it now spreads across the network using a far more targeted technique.

Also Read: Cyberattack Continues to Clog Port Systems, Major Networks

According to Cybersecuirty experts, WannaCry had a flaw – it had a kill switch. The new malware is a far evolved version of WannaCry.

“The new malware uses the built in capabilities within your Windows OS to spread. It uses the same tools and protocols that your office's IT guy uses to manage your computers to spread itself,” Sahir Hidayatullah, chief executive officer at Smokescreen Technologies explains. “That means it is not easy to block because if you block it, you block stuff that your IT guy needs to make the business run.”

Also Read: A Ransomware Attack Of This Scale Could Make You ‘WannaCry'