A targeted ransomware attack has taken down the networks of at least two companies in Spain today, sending ripples across other companies as they moved to defend themselves. The targets included Everis—a major IT services and consulting subsidiary of Japan-based global communications company NTT—and the radio company Sociedad Española de Radiodifusión (Cadena SER). A technician at one company told Spanish broadcaster ABC, "We are in hysteria mode."
Some other companies—including Spanish airport operator Aena—took down some of their services as a precautionary measure. They did so in part because Everis has staff on site at many Spanish corporations. But the attack may have affected other companies as well, though no others have publicly acknowledged the ransomware.
The ransomware appears to be a variant of the BitPaymer family that is connected to the Dridex group of malware, according to security researcher Vitali Kremez and others who have analyzed the attack.
A screenshot of the note delivered by the ransomware, posted by Spanish cryptocurrency news site Bitcoin.es, shows the hallmarks of a BitPaymer campaign.
2019-07-19: [Newer]
#BitPaymer aka "wp_encrypt" #Ransomware
Targeted Manual Deployment
{ arp -a + nslookup + net view } | TAIL & KEY store | Windows Defender Emulator check from @0xAlexei's presentation
ht @osipov_ar
Reference: https://t.co/aBhWOeb1Rk pic.twitter.com/cZ1aL529mn— Vitali Kremez (@VK_Intel) Read More – Source
