Ransomware Badrabbit hits networks in Russia, Germany, Ukraine

A picture released by Kaspersky Lab showing a computer infected with the Bad Rabbit cryptoware

A major cyberattack has hit various corporate networks in Russia, Germany, Turkey, and Ukraine, says the Kaspersky Lab.   

“Our observations show that the majority of the attack’s victims are located in Russia. We’re also registering similar attacks in Ukraine, Turkey and Germany, but on a considerably smaller scale. The malware spreads through a number of compromised websites of Russian media outlets,” said the cyber security company on Tuesday.

The virus, dubbed BadRabbit, demands an initial ransom of 0.05 Bitcoin ($300) from users to regain access to their files, but features a timer which threatens to increase the price if the ransom is not paid.

“Algorithms similar to the ExPetr attack are being used, but we cannot confirm links to ExPetr. We’re still studying the situation,” added the cyber security firm in reference to the major cryptoware attack which targeted a number of companies in Russia and Ukraine earlier in the year.

“In 2017 two major cryptoware epidemics have been registered – we’re talking about the notorious WannaCry and ExPetr (also known as Petya and NotPetya), and now the third one appears to begin,” it added.

The US Department of Homeland Security has issued a warning over the new ransomware.