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On June 20th, 2017, a major cyber-attack hit several thousand devices from all over Europe, the Middle East and the US. The ransomware, called Petya or NotPetya, affected some big companies, like the giant WPP in the UK, the Ukrainian National Bank, the Chernobyl radiation detection systems in Ukraine, Russia’s gas oil company Rosneft and the Danish shipping company Maersk. A ransomware is a malicious software that locks digital files and asks for a ransom in order for the files to get unlocked. Petya is a vicious form of ransomware that locks individual files but also the devices’ hard drives. Therefore, not only is it difficult to get the files back but this malware also enables stealing of sensitive information.
Petya followed another malware attack that occurred only one month before, in May 2017, called WannaCry. This ransomware affected more than 150 countries and targeted companies like the British NHS, FedEx, Spain’s Telefonica and Renault. WannaCry and Petya have spread through Eternal Blue – a tool created by the National Security Agency and leaked online by the Shadow Brokers that exploits a problem in Microsoft’s software.
Two Israeli companies, Cyber DriveWare and Bufferzone, already provided real-time protection against the new ransomware family Petya before the attacks. Furthermore, Amit Serper, Principal Security Researcher at an Israeli cybersecurity start-up called Cybereason, developed a “vaccination” against Petya that disables the ransomware. His method (RansomFree 2.3.0.0) kills the Petya application before it even starts encrypting files. It is the world’s most widely used free anti-ransomware tool. For instance, more than 350.000 small business and consumers use it. The Cybereason start-up had already raised 90 million EUR after the WannaCry virus.
Right after these attacks Israel held its annual Cyber Week from June 25-29, 2017. The conference is an indication of Israel’s commitment to its leading role in cybersecurity. Cyber Week brings together international cybersecurity experts and enthusiasts, from government, the private sector, academia, the military, and the intelligence community to provide insight into the latest global developments in cybersecurity. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the conference “In 2016, we had about 20 percent of global private cyber security investment around the world.” An estimated 600 to 700 startups in the cyber security industry in Israel - and a significant amount of funding funnelled from abroad.
Governments across the world are scrambling to pour time and resources into protecting themselves against the ever-increasing threat of cyber-attacks. With the rapid digitalization of society’s critical infrastructures, the damage that these cyber-attacks could inflict is frightening. The recent attacks made the authorities realise the urgent need for a strengthening of cyber security and defence, according to NATO’s Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.
The next Cyber Week is planned for June 2018.
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