CHERNOBYL IS HIT IN GLOBAL CYBER ATTACK

A WORLDWIDE cyber attack was underway last night, with the stricken Chernobyl nuclear plant among the hackers’ targets. The global ransomware assault crippled IT systems as hackers demanded $300 – £233 – for users to get back into their computers. The attack apparently began in Ukraine, then spread across Europe, locking some of the world’s biggest brands out of their computers. Dutch cargo shipping line Maersk, British advertising giant WPP and Russian oil company Rosneft were among the victims. Staff at the Chernobyl plant, which suffered a catastrophic explosion in 1986, had to monitor radiation levels manually after its Windows-based sensors were shut off. London-based WPP said “several” of its companies had been affected. Ukraine was the first to be hit, with disruption to airports, the power grid, banks and government offices. Ukraine’s Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman said the wave of cyber attacks was “unprecedented”. His deputy Pavlo Rozenko tweeted a picture of a darkened computer screen, saying IT systems had been shut down at government HQ. Russia’s Rosneft energy company also fell victim, along with the Port of Rotterdam and the Maersk line. Experts feared the malware was targeting the same weaknesses exploited in May’s Wannacry attack. The National Cyber Security Centre, part of intelligence agency GCHQ, said: “We are aware of a global ransomware incident and are monitoring the situation closely.” Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon said the cyber security of the HMS Queen Elizabeth, which took to the sea for the first time on Monday, was “properly protected” after it emerged it was running Windows XP.

TARGET The Chernobyl plant