Petya ransomware monitored in Korea

By a2017001

Published : June 28, 2017 - 09:54

The Petya ransomware, which struck Russia and Europe earlier this week, was also observed in South Korea, industry sources said Wednesday, casting concern over local cybersecurity.

While the Korea Internet & Security Agency said no official reports have been made to the organization so far, several Internet users claimed their computer was struck by the latest ransomware.

(Yonhap)

Ransomware refers to malware that locks up files on a computer with encryption until the victims pay a certain amount of money to hackers.

Petya, first detected earlier in 2016, demands users to pay the virtual currency bitcoin worth $300 to recover their files.

South Korea earlier suffered damage from ransomware "WannaCry" in May, which struck around 20 local companies. (Yonhap)