MOSCOW (Sputnik) — VERC data showed in the early hours of Thursday that the virus was detected outside China, the People's Daily newspaper reported.
The UIWIX virus uses the same Microsoft Windows system vulnerabilities to spread as the notorious WannaCry ransomware, which targeted thousands of organizations last week.
The virus encrypts users’ files and renames them in order to limit users from accessing the computer or files unless they pay a ransom.
Sunday's report by Europol, the European Union’s law enforcement agency, showed that the attack with the use of WannaCry ransomware targeted more than 200,000 victims in some 150 countries, including China, since it had been unleashed on Friday.