New ransomware outbreak in Europe has spread to many countries

According to foreign media reports on October 25, a ransomware called "Bad Rabbit" launched an attack on Tuesday, freezing computer systems in several European countries and has begun to spread to the United States. This is the latest wave of malware attacks, which have caused companies and government departments to complain this year.

The software, called Bad Rabbit, is a type of ransomware that encrypts files on a victim's computer, rendering it unusable, and demands a ransom. The ransomware demands 0.05 bitcoins ($275), but it is unclear whether the computer files can be decrypted after paying the ransom.

Czech antivirus company Avast Software sro said that by Tuesday evening, the malware had begun spreading to the U.S. Also on Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Computer Emergency Response Team issued an alert saying it had received multiple reports of infections.

Security researchers said the ransomware disguised itself as an update for Adobe Systems' Flash multimedia product and, once downloaded, would attempt to spread across the network where the victim's computer was located.

By Tuesday evening, the attacks had spread to Russia, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Turkey and Germany, security researchers said. Victims included Russia's Interfax news agency, the subway system in Kiev, Ukraine, the international airport in Odessa, Ukraine, and Ukraine's Ministry of Infrastructure, Nikitin said.

Liam O'Murchu, a researcher at antivirus company Symantec, said Bad Rabbit shared some of the same code as the Petya virus that wreaked havoc on businesses around the world in June.

But security experts say the latest wave of attacks is unlikely to cause the same level of global damage as Petya.