Latest cyberattack 'more sophisticated' and spreading, says Europol

The second cyberattack in as many months that struck systems around the world was more sophisticated than the first one and is still spreading, Europol has said.

It says companies and governments are being targeted by an updated version of a known virus.

Tuesday's attack, believed to have started in Ukraine, brought disruption to major organisations including the Chernobyl radiation monitoring system, European bank BNP Paribas (LSE: 0HB5.L - news) , advertising firm WPP (Frankfurt: A1J2BZ - news) and parts of the Ukrainian government computer system.

The Danish owner of the world's largest container shipper Maersk Line said its computer systems were also affected, causing problems with processing orders and delaying cargoes.

It came just weeks after the NHS was crippled by a cyberattack .

Europol, which helps EU member states fight international crime, said the attack is still ongoing and it is monitoring the spread of the virus.

More than a day after it first struck, companies around the world are still wrestling with the fallout while cybersecurity experts worked round the clock to find a way to stem the spread.

Europol executive director Rob Wainwright said: "This is another serious ransomware attack with global impact, although the number of victims is not yet known.

:: What is Petrwrap virus behind cyberattack?

"There are clear similarities with the WannaCry attack, but also indications of a more sophisticated attack capability, intended to exploit a range of vulnerabilities.

"It is a demonstration of how cybercrime evolves."

Europol says there are close links to the Petrwrap virus - a type of malware believed to be behind the latest attack.

However, global security firm Kaspersky Lab said the attack was a new form of malware that shared similarities to the malware but also "possesses entirely different functionality".

Kaspersky said the virus had attacked around 2,000 organisations and businesses so far with Ukraine and Russia the worst affected although Poland, Italy, the UK, Germany, France, Denmark, Norway, India, Australia and the US were also hit.

In the attack, the virus encrypted computer files and demands payment of £235 ransom in the online currency Bitcoin for the return of the data.

WPP said that a day after its system was struck it was still trying to restore some of its services.

The company said: "Having taken steps to contain the attack, the priority now is to return to normal as soon as possible while protecting our systems."

A BNP Paribas spokeswoman said: "The necessary measures were taken rapidly to contain this attack."