NotPetya – the most devastating cyberattack since the creation of the internet
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In 2017 malware known as notPetya sabotaged the computers of thousands of businesses worldwide, from large international companies such as shipping giant Maersk to local businesses like Cadbury’s Tasmanian chocolate factory. Global law firm DLA Piper was among the many victims, crippling operations for days as lawyers at the firm had limited access to their computer systems or email.
Total losses have been estimated at more than $10 billion. Starting in the Ukraine, the malware spread rapidly by encrypting computers’ master boot records making data permanently unavailable.
NotPetya was able to infect computers that had not been patched for vulnerabilities and take passwords from those computers to infect other computers that had been patched. It took only one unpatched computer in a network to cause havoc to a company’s infrastructure.
The Untold Story of NotPetya, the Most Devastating Cyberattack in History contains a fascinating discussion. Read the full article by Andy Greenberg on Wired.com
