The Untold Story of NotPetya, the Most Devastating Cyberattack in History (2018)
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- In 2017, the NotPetya malware attack, originating from Russian military hackers in Ukraine, caused over $10 billion in damages globally, targeting companies like Maersk, Merck, and FedEx.
- Maersk, the world's largest shipping conglomerate, was crippled: its network wiped, terminals paralyzed, and operations halted, requiring a manual workaround with WhatsApp and paper documents.
- The attack spread via the M.E.Doc accounting software in Ukraine, using EternalBlue and Mimikatz exploits to automatically infect networks indiscriminately.
- Maersk's recovery took 10 days to rebuild 4,000 servers and 45,000 PCs, costing between $250 million and $300 million, plus additional customer reimbursements.
- The attack highlighted vulnerabilities in global interconnected supply chains and cybersecurity, with outdated systems and insufficient network segmentation contributing to the spread.
- NotPetya was a destructive state-sponsored cyberweapon, not typical ransomware, as ransom payments were futile and data was irreversibly encrypted.
- The incident served as a wake-up call for cybersecurity improvements, but experts warn similar attacks could happen again due to the complexity of modern networks.