Companies that were hit by global ransomware attack in Europe, Russia and India

The Indian unit of Reckitt Benckiser and India-based employees at Beiersdorf AG were among those hit in the ransomware attack.

A global ransomware attack on Tuesday hit computers at Russia’s biggest oil company, Ukraine’s international airport, global shipping firm AP Moller-Maersk and the world’s biggest advertising agency WPP.

An IT researcher stands next to a giant screen of a computer infected by a ransomware at the LHS (High Security Laboratory) of the INRIA (National Institute for Research in Computer Science and Automation) in Rennes.(AFP File Photo)

The virus was similar to the ransomware that last month infected more than 300,000 computers.

The rapidly spreading cyber extortion campaign underscored growing concerns that businesses have failed to secure their networks from increasingly aggressive hackers, who have shown they are capable of shutting down critical infrastructure and crippling corporate and government networks.

It included code known as “Eternal Blue,” which cyber security experts widely believe was stolen from the US National Security Agency (NSA) and was also used in last month’s ransomware attack, named “WannaCry”.

The ransomware virus crippled computers running Microsoft Corp’s Windows by encrypting hard drives and overwriting files, then demanded $300 in bitcoin payments to restore access. More than 30 victims paid into the bitcoin account associated with the attack, according to a public ledger of transactions listed on blockchain.info.

Microsoft said the virus could spread through a flaw that was patched in a security update in March.

Following is a list of companies and organisations that have reported being hit by cyber attacks:

ROSNEFT

Russia’s top oil producer Rosneft said its servers had been hit been a large-scale cyber attack but its oil production was unaffected.

AP MOLLER-MAERSK

Danish shipping giant A.P. Moller-Maersk, which handles one out of seven containers shipped globally, said a cyber attack had caused outages at its computer systems across the world.

Maersk’s port operator APM Terminals was also hit. Dutch broadcaster RTV Rijnmond reported that 17 shipping container terminals run by APM Terminals had been hacked, including two in Rotterdam and 15 in other parts of the world.

WPP

Britain’s WPP , the world’s biggest advertising company, said computer systems within several of its agencies had been hit by a suspected cyber attack.

MERCK & CO

Pharmaceutical company Merck & Co said in a tweet its computer network was compromised as part of a global hack.

RUSSIAN BANKS

Russia’s central bank said there had been “computer attacks” on Russian banks and that in isolated cases their IT systems had been infected.

All Russian branches of Home Credit consumer lender are closed because of a cyber attack, an employee of a Home Credit call centre in Russia said.

UKRAINIAN BANKS, POWER GRID

A number of Ukrainian banks and companies, including the state power distributor, were hit by a cyber attack that disrupted some operations, the Ukrainian central bank said.

UKRAINIAN INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

Yevhen Dykhne, director of the capital’s Boryspil Airport, said it had been hit. “In connection with the irregular situation, some flight delays are possible,” Dykhne said in a post on Facebook.

SAINT GOBAIN

French construction materials company Saint Gobain said it had been a victim of a cyber attack, and it had isolated its computer systems to protect data.

DEUTSCHE POST

German postal and logistics company Deutsche Post said systems of its Express division in the Ukraine have in part been affected by a cyber attack.

METRO

Germany’s Metro said its wholesale stores in the Ukraine had been hit by a cyber attack and the retailer was assessing the impact.

MONDELEZ INTERNATIONAL

Food company Mondelez International said employees in different regions were experiencing technical problems but it was unclear whether this was due to a cyber attack.

TNT EXPRESS

The Netherlands-based shipping company said it was experiencing interference with some of its systems, following a global ransomware attack.

EVRAZ

Russian steelmaker Evraz said its information systems had been hit by a cyber attack but its output was not affected.

NORWAY

A ransomware cyber attack is taking place in Norway and is affecting an unnamed international company, the Nordic country’s national security authority.

MARS INC

A unit of candy manufacturer Mars Inc has been targeted by cyber attackers, and the company has isolated the issue, a spokeswoman for the company said.

BEIERSDORF AG

India-based employees at Beiersdorf AG , the maker of Nivea skincare products, told Reuters the ransomware attack had impacted some of the company’s systems in the country. The extent of the impact was unclear and Beiersdorf, which is based in Germany, could not be reached immediately for comment in India.

RECKITT BENCKISER

The Indian unit of British consumer goods company Reckitt Benckiser Group Plc, which owns brands such as Enfamil, Dettol and Lysol, was also hit by the ransomware attack, employees in India told Reuters. The extent of the impact on its systems was not immediately clear and the company could not be reached for comment in India.