A global cyber attack, which is being linked to the WannaCry ransomware, has affected several companies and countries. Ransomware is a type of malware that essentially takes over a computer and prevents users from accessing data on it until a ransom is paid.
Russia and Ukraine were the most affected countries, while India is also among the countries affected by the major global cyber attack. However, the total number of attacks is still unknown.
According to the sources, this attack had a worldwide impact.
In Australia, a Cadbury chocolate factory was hit by the ransomware. Production at the Hobart factory on the island state of Tasmania came to a halt on Tuesday after the computer systems went down. Cadbury owner Mondelez International Inc confirmed in their statement that various regions were experiencing technical problems.
Globally, Russia and Ukraine were most affected by the thousands of attacks including countries like Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Poland and the United State.
According to the security experts, the impact was expected to be smaller than WannaCry because many computers had been patched with Windows updates in the wake of the WannaCry ransom attack last month to protect them against attacks using Eternal Blue code.
Still, “The attack could be more dangerous than traditional strains of ransomware because it makes computers unresponsive and unable to reboot, as said by Juniper Networks in a blog post analyzing the attack.
No serious impact in India
The central government had said that the ongoing cyber attack had no serious impact on the country. However, the cyber security experts said that the malware has affected at least 48000 computer systems across the country.
Besides this operation at a Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust terminal in Mumbai were forced to shut after being impacted by the cyber attack.
According to the officials, the attack has affected all software operations of Gateway Terminal India (GTI). Around 2,000 to 5,000 containers are received and delivered from here on a regular basis. The entire system of loading and unloading the containers is conducted through software but since the software system is down the operations are being conducted manually.
India-based employees at Beiersdorf, makers of Nivea skin care products, and Reckitt Benckiser, which owns Enfamil and Lysol were also among the ones affected by the ransomware attack.
The top five affected cities are Kolkata followed by Delhi, Bhubaneshwar, Pune, and Mumbai with the top five states being West Bengal, Maharashtra, Gujrat, Delhi, and Orissa.
How we can avoid these attacks
There is no perfect solution to this problem. But we can take some major steps to avoid such attacks.
- The first step is being cautious. It’s important to avoid clicking on links or opening attachments in messages since they could unleash malware.
- Users should regularly back up their data and ensure that security updates are installed on the computer.
