Petya Ransomware Infection – How to Protect Your Data from Ransomware Attack?

After the WannaCry ransomware caused its havoc worldwide, another dangerous ransomware named Petya has rippled across the internet on Tuesday 27 June 2017. Also known by the name of Golden Eye, this ransomware is known to affect 2,000 systems in US, Middle East, and Europe as of now. 

How Petya Ransomware Executes its Attack?

Like the WannaCry ransomware, Petya spreads itself quickly and targets large organizations like multinational companies. However, it plays smarter than the WannaCry ransomware as it doesn’t make the same mistakes.

Though the Petya Ransomware first started spreading in the year 2016 but has now come with much stronger encryption. The malware targets Microsoft Windows-based systems taking advantage of Eternal Blue vulnerability which was previously used by WannaCry. It infects the master boot record, locks the hard drive and all the individual files of the target computer system causing it to stop working and demands a payment in Bitcoin in order to regain access to the system.  Those who make the payment are asked to send the confirmation on an email address, which is now shut down by the email service provider.

How Did it Start?

The attack appears to be initiated from software update of a Ukrainian accounting program called Medoc, which is used by government, banks, metro system, etc. of Ukraine.  

Who Should be Worried?

If you are using an old version of Microsoft Windows on your computer, then beware because you could be the next target of Petya. Some useful recommendations from us will help you in staying secured:

• Install the latest version of windows and update all the security patches.
• Refrain from clicking any malicious or unknown links or attachments.
• Install Antivirus protection on your computer to effectively scan and remove malware.
• Do Not pay ransom to any hacker in case you have been attacked by the ransomware. This is because even after paying the amount there is no guarantee that your data will be recovered.
• A better way is to keep at least two backups of your data for easy recovery in case of disaster.