An unknown number of computers at the Russian Interior Ministry have been infected with a virus that is crippling computers around the world this Friday, according to the news sites Mediazona and Varlamov.ru.
The virus has reportedly infected the Interior Ministry’s internal computer system, though it’s unknown how many machines are affected.
Cyber experts say the Russian government’s computers have likely succumbed to the “WCry” virus (also known by the names “WannaCry” and “WannaCryptor”). This virus encrypts a computer’s files and then charges victims a fee to recover their data.
On May 12, the WCry virus is believed to have infected the British National Health Service, the Spanish telecommunications company Telefonica, and the Russian company Megafon. There are more than 45,000 infected computers around the world, according to the website Intel.malwaretech.com. Most cases so far have been in Russia, Ukraine, and Taiwan.
The Russian online store Svyaznoy told the website Meduza that it is working to keep its computers from being infected by the WCry virus. Representatives from phone service provider Beeline, meanwhile, told Meduza that the company successfully deflected a hacker attack on Friday.
