GLOBAL CYBER ATTACK: Petya ransomware sparks world computer meltdown spreading rapidly

HACKERS have unleashed a mass cyber attack, causing widespread disruption to governments and companies across the globe.

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The 'Petya' ransomware attack has affected companies in countries including the UK, Russia, India, Spain, France, Denmark and Norway.

The radiation monitoring system at Ukraine's Chernobyl nuclear power plant has been hit by the unprecedented security breach.

Britain-based advertising giant WPP is also among dozens of firms reporting issues.

Ransomware is the name given to programs that hold data hostage by scrambling it until a payment is made.

WPP, the world's biggest advertising business, said a number of its companies had been affected and it was currently "assessing the situation".

In a statement, the FTSE 100 firm said: "IT systems in several WPP companies have been affected by a suspected cyber attack.

"We are assessing the situation, taking appropriate measures and will update as soon as possible."

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Countries including the UK, Russia and Ukraine have been affected

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It came as company and government officials reported major disruption to the Ukrainian power grid, banks and government offices.

Ukrainian deputy prime minister Pavlo Rozenko said the computer system at the government's headquarters has been shut down.

He added: "It was an unprecedented attack, but our IT experts are doing their work and protecting strategic infrastructure.

"Important systems have not been affected."

TWITTER

Ukraine's deputy PM Rozenko Pavlo tweeted this error message on his PC

Russia's Rosneft energy company also reported falling victim to hacking, as did shipping company AP Moller-Maersk.

A Maersk spokesman said: "We can confirm that Maersk IT systems are down across multiple sites and business units due to a cyber attack.

"We continue to assess the situation. The safety of our employees, our operations and customers' business is our top priority."

REUTERS

Ukraine's state-owned bank Oschadbank has been affected by the hack

French construction materials company Saint Gobain also said it had been affected.

A spokesman for the firm said: "Along with other big companies, St Gobain has been the victim of a cyber attack.

"As a security measure and in order to protect our data, we have isolated our computer systems."

REUTERS

Payment terminals at Oschadbank branches are currently out of order

We are aware of a global ransomware incident

National Cyber Security Centre

The National Cyber Security Centre, which is part of intelligence agency GCHQ, said there was a "global ransomware incident".

A spokesman said: "We are aware of a global ransomware incident and are monitoring the situation closely.

"The NCSC website provides advice to the public and business on how to protect your digital systems."

SG

The National Cyber Security Centre is aware of the ransomware attack

Alan Woodward, a computer scientist at Surrey University, said: "It appears to be a variant of a piece of ransomware that emerged last year.

"It was updated earlier in 2017 by the criminals when certain aspects were defeated.

"The ransomware was called Petya and the updated version Petrwap."