• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

Analysts expected oil to surge above $200 but China has quietly kept prices half of that—and can’t for much longer

2

Pentagon accuses Alibaba, Baidu and BYD, three of China's biggest companies, of supporting the Chinese military

3

Current price of oil as of June 10, 2026

1

Analysts expected oil to surge above $200 but China has quietly kept prices half of that—and can’t for much longer

2

Pentagon accuses Alibaba, Baidu and BYD, three of China's biggest companies, of supporting the Chinese military

3

Current price of oil as of June 10, 2026
TechCybersecurity

Petya-Infected Computers Can Spread Ransomware Simply by Sharing Networks

By
Reuters
Reuters
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Reuters
Reuters
Down Arrow Button Icon
July 5, 2017, 3:57 PM ET

The Ukrainian software firm used as part of last week’s global cyber attack warned on Wednesday that all computers sharing a network with its infected accounting software had been compromised by hackers.

The attack used a virus, dubbed “NotPetya” by some experts, to take down thousands of computers in dozens of countries, disrupting shipping and businesses. Investigators now say the hack may be far more nefarious than previously thought.

A top official in the Ukrainian Presidential Administration said it remained unclear how many computers had been compromised and the state security service was trying to establish what the hackers would do with data stolen during the attack.

A video released by Ukrainian police showed masked men in combat fatigues and armed with assault rifles raiding the offices of software developer Intellect Service late on Tuesday, after cyber security researchers said they had found a “backdoor” written into some of the updates issued by its M.E. Doc accounting software.

Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s technology newsletter.

M.E. Doc is used by 80% of Ukrainian companies and installed on around 1 million computers in the country. Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said police had blocked a second cyber attack from servers hosting the software.

The company previously denied its servers had been compromised, but when asked on Wednesday whether a backdoor had been inserted, chief executive Olesya Bilousova said: “Yes there was. And the fact is that this backdoor needs to be closed.”

Any computer on the same network as machines using M.E.Doc was now vulnerable to another attack, she said.

“As of today, every computer which is on the same local network as our product is a threat. We need to pay the most attention to those computers which weren’t affected (by last week’s attack),” she told reporters.

“The virus is on them waiting for a signal. There are fingerprints on computers which didn’t even use our product.”

Dmytro Shymkiv, deputy head of Ukraine’s presidential administration and a former director of Microsoft in Ukraine, said the latest evidence further pointed to an advanced and well-orchestrated attack.

“I am looking through the analysis that has been done on the M.E.Doc server, and from what I’m seeing, that’s worrying. Worrying is a very light word for this,” he said. “How many backdoors are still open? We don’t know.”

He also said M.E.Doc’s servers had not been updated since 2013, providing some indication as to how the hackers were able to access the system.

Intellect Service said Shymkiv’s comments referred to a disk used to store M.E.Doc’s software updates.

Smokescreen

Cyber security experts said that while hackers have previously been known to insert viruses into software updates—thus tricking computers and system administrators into installing the malware on their own systems—the attack on Ukraine is the largest and most disruptive such assault to date.

“We are in a new phase of cyber security and the way that sophisticated actors behave,” said Leo Taddeo, a former FBI cyber investigator and executive with cyber-security firm Cyxtera Technologies. “I can’t think of a supply chain attack that has been this thorough.”

Investigators are still trying to establish who was behind last week’s attack. Ukrainian politicians were quick to blame Russia, which denied it.

Technology news site Motherboard reported late on Wednesday that people claiming to be behind the attack had posted a message online offering to unlock all encrypted files for a bitcoin payment of $256,000. Reuters was unable to confirm the report.

Shymkiv said the assault was designed to look like a ransomware attack in order to disguise its true objective.

“Initially everybody thought, including me, that it was just an attack with a virus,” he said. “It was not an attack with a virus, it was opening a backdoor, which was a hack of the computer networks on a broad scale and then eliminating the results with a virus.”

“It’s like a robber, you get to the house, you steal everything, and then you burn it.”

About the Author
By Reuters
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Tech

gordon
CommentaryVenture Capital
Gordon Ritter: I predicted AI’s learning loop a decade ago. The doomers are still measuring the wrong thing
By Gordon RitterJune 11, 2026
1 hour ago
A man in a suit jacket gestures with his hands.
AITerm Sheet
SpaceX is about to make history—and 80% of VCs won’t see a dime of it
By Amanda GerutJune 11, 2026
3 hours ago
T-minus 24 hours: On the eve of SpaceX IPO liftoff some Wall Street analysts say the stock is worth only half of Elon Musk’s price
EconomyMarkets
T-minus 24 hours: On the eve of SpaceX IPO liftoff some Wall Street analysts say the stock is worth only half of Elon Musk’s price
By Jim EdwardsJune 11, 2026
3 hours ago
Bridgit Mendler, co-founder and CEO of Northwood, at Fortune Brainstorm Tech 2026 in Aspen, Colorado. (Photo: Stuart Isett/Fortune)
NewslettersFortune Tech
Bridgit Mendler sees the space economy going mainstream
By Andrew NuscaJune 11, 2026
4 hours ago
Meet the Fortune Crypto 100: A ranking of the very best companies in blockchain
CryptoCryptocurrency
Meet the Fortune Crypto 100: A ranking of the very best companies in blockchain
By Jeff John RobertsJune 11, 2026
5 hours ago
Fortune Crypto Innovators
CryptoCryptocurrency
Meet the Fortune Crypto Innovators
By FortuneJune 11, 2026
5 hours ago

Most Popular

Analysts expected oil to surge above $200 but China has quietly kept prices half of that—and can’t for much longer
Energy
Analysts expected oil to surge above $200 but China has quietly kept prices half of that—and can’t for much longer
By Sasha RogelbergJune 10, 2026
20 hours ago
Pentagon accuses Alibaba, Baidu and BYD, three of China's biggest companies, of supporting the Chinese military
Asia
Pentagon accuses Alibaba, Baidu and BYD, three of China's biggest companies, of supporting the Chinese military
By Kate O'Keeffe and BloombergJune 8, 2026
3 days ago
Current price of oil as of June 10, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of oil as of June 10, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerJune 10, 2026
1 day ago
Costco CEO Ron Vachris rose from forklift driver to the C-suite without a college degree: ‘Don’t chase a title’ is the career advice that got him there
Success
Costco CEO Ron Vachris rose from forklift driver to the C-suite without a college degree: ‘Don’t chase a title’ is the career advice that got him there
By Preston ForeJune 8, 2026
3 days ago
Marc Lore’s robots make 500 burrito bowls an hour. A human can make 45
Innovation
Marc Lore’s robots make 500 burrito bowls an hour. A human can make 45
By Amanda GerutJune 9, 2026
2 days ago
A ‘MAGA Warrior’ Texas ag chief is publicly blasting the USDA over a flesh-eating pest threatening America's beef supply
North America
A ‘MAGA Warrior’ Texas ag chief is publicly blasting the USDA over a flesh-eating pest threatening America's beef supply
By Marco Quiroz-GutierrezJune 10, 2026
1 day ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.