Global ransomware attack hits Ukraine, causes worldwide turmoil:
Computers across the world have been struck by a major ransomware cyberattack, with Ukrainian companies among the worst hit.
Ukraine initially seemed to be the target of the cyberattack, which started on June 27, affecting Ukrainian government computer networks, websites of banks, major industrial enterprises, the postal service, Kyiv's international airport, and the Chernobyl nuclear power plant.
But the attack also hit other countries and international companies around the world.
The virus's pace appeared to slow by June 28, partly because the malware appeared to require direct contact between computer networks, a factor that may have limited its spread in regions with fewer connections to Ukraine.
However, businesses in the Asia-Pacific region reported some disruptions on June 28 with the operations of several European companies hit.
The fresh cyberattack used the same intrusion tool as a similar assault last month.
The malicious software freezes the user's computer until an untraceable ransom is paid in the digital Bitcoin currency. (Reuters, AFP, BBC)