A massive cyberattack via a ransomware virus dubbed Petya has paralyzed dozens of businesses in Ukraine and neighbouring Russia, dpa cited state news agencies as reporting Tuesday. Dozens of Ukrainian businesses, including banks, energy companies and even Kiev's Boryspil Airport were reported as affected by the Petya attack, as were Russian state oil companies Rosneft and Bashneft. The attack was similar to one conducted in recent weeks with the WannaCry virus, which affected computers in more than 150 countries. Like WannaCry, the Petya virus takes over computer systems, demanding a ransom payment in the bitcoin digital currency to unlock them.
