text: Unlike the NotPetya attack, which hit tens of thousands of systems in more than 65 countries, Kaspersky reported that it had only seen roughly 200 victims. The security firm believes this may have been a targeted attack aimed at corporate networks.
  Several security firms have classified Bad Rabbit as a variant of NotPetya, the malware that hit numerous organizations in late June and caused losses of millions of dollars for several major companies. NotPetya has also been tracked as Diskcoder, Petya, Petrwrap, exPetr and GoldenEye.
  While NotPetya initially also appeared to be a piece of ransomware, researchers noticed that the encrypted files could not have been recovered even if the ransom had been paid. The malware was later reclassified as a wiper.
  The list of similarities between NotPetya and Bad Rabbit includes the fact that both use SMB to spread, they create scheduled tasks to reboot the system, the ransom screen is very similar, both use .dat files as the main component, and some of the functionality and code is almost identical.
  On the other hand, unlike NotPetya, Bad Rabbit does not use the EternalBlue exploit, its encryption functionality works properly and a more advanced crypter is used, it uses a different kernel and bootloader, and the attacks appear to have been more targeted. Another significant difference is the fact that NotPetya was delivered via a Ukraine-based company’s update server, while Bad Rabbit leverages drive-by attacks.
  
  Washington - The US government has moved to block federal agencies from buying software from Russia-based Kaspersky Lab, amid concerns about the company's links to intelligence services in Moscow.
  The General Services Administration, which handles federal government purchasing contracts, said in a statement to AFP that Kaspersky Lab, a major global provider of cybersecurity software, has been removed from its list of approved vendors, making it more difficult to obtain Kaspersky products.
  "GSA's priorities are to ensure the integrity and security of US government systems and networks and evaluate products and services available on our contracts using supply chain risk management processes," the agency said in a statement.