CERT: Petya ransomware not affected Azerbaijan

By Azernews

By Rashid Shirinov

No complaints were received from the Azerbaijani government structures in connection with Petya ransomware, a new wave of cyber attacks that hit computers and enterprise servers worldwide, CERT reported.

The Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT) under the State Agency for Special Communication and Information Security of Azerbaijani Special State Guard Service told Trend on that the Petya ransomware is being distributed the same way that WannaCry, by using vulnerability of SMB (Server Message Block) network protocol.

“The difference between the cryptographer Petya and WannaCry is that Petya encrypts not files but the hard disk. The virus spreads by e-mail as phishing," CERT said. "So far, we haven't recorded any incidents of infections by this cryptographer from the Azerbaijani government structures.”

The major ransomware cyberattack has spread through the U.S. and Europe. The attack was first reported in Ukraine, where the government, banks, state power utility and Kiev’s airport and metro system were all affected.

The “Petya” ransomware has caused serious disruption at large firms including the advertising giant WPP, French construction materials company Saint-Gobain and Russian steel and oil firms Evraz and Rosneft.

Infected computers display a message demanding a Bitcoin ransom worth $300.

The WannaCry or WannaCrypt ransomware attack affected more than 230,000 computers in over 150 countries, with the NHS, Spanish phone company Telefónica and German state railways among those hardest hit.