Merck IT systems still crippled in Petya’s aftermath
Four days after its networks were infected, computer systems at pharmaceutical giant Merck is still hamstrung by the Petya ransomware. The company told its 70,000 employees on Tuesday to immediately cease all interactions with company networks, to refrain from turning on or rebooting any company computers or tablets, and to not use thumb drives. As company email was completely disabled, Merck supervisors disseminated instructions down the corporate ladder via copied and pasted text messages. The company did assure employees that human resource data had not been compromised. Petya is technically ransomware, as it encrypts users’ files and demands bitcoin to access them. But unlocking files with a purchasable key appears impossible, leading cybersecurity researchers to conclude that Petya was designed to be destructive, rather than a scheme to make money. Petya’s creators are unknown, but the fact that Ukrainian government systems and Ukrainian companies were among the first victims has […]
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