Security Service of Ukraine accuses Russia of launching the Petya ransomware attack on Ukraine
The Security Service of Ukraine has accused Russian Special Services of launching the computer ransomware Petya.A.
In the opinion of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), this virus was disguised as ransomware, but in fact its goal was a purposeful destabilization of the socio-political situation in Ukraine.
"The virus is a cover for a large-scale attack aimed at Ukraine, as evidenced by the absence of a real mechanism for seizing money, whose primitiveness only confirms the view that enrichment was not the goal of the attack," the statement said.
The SBU believes that the main purpose of the virus was to destroy important data and disrupt the work of public and private institutions in Ukraine in order to spread panic among the population.
"The available data, including that obtained through interaction with international anti-virus companies, suggest that behind these attacks is the same hacker groups that in December 2016 attacked the financial system, transport and energy facilities of Ukraine using malicious TeleBots and Blackenergy software. This indicates the involvement of the Special Services of the Russian Federation in this attack," the message says.
On the morning of June 27, Ukraine was attacked by the computer ransomware Petya, which caused major disruption of Ukraine’s financial system. Until now many banks have not completely restored their operations. Many companies and state bodies became victims of the virus attack.
One of the sources of infection was the upgrade of the accounting program M.E.Doc, although its developers deny involvement in the attack.