Advertiser WPP says that certain operations still affected by NotPetya malware, restoration gradual

WPP, the world’s biggest advertising agency, said on Thursday that some of its operations continued to be affected by a ransomware attack that went around the world earlier in the week, but that services were gradually being restored. On Tuesday a major global cyber attack disrupted computers at a range of multinational firms, including **WPP** , Russia’s biggest oil company and Ukrainian banks, with a virus similar to the ransomware that infected more than 300,000 computers last month. “While the attack did not affect the entire Group, and many of our companies are fully functional, some continue to be disrupted,” WPP said in a statement, adding that it took steps on Tuesday to ensure client data was protected. “Steady progress is being made towards restoring services. However, in doing so, our emphasis is not only on speed but on safety, and on minimising the impact for our people, partners and clients.” An AFP report quoting the Ukrainian central bank said a cyber attack hit several lenders in the ex-Soviet republic, hindering operations and leading the regulator to warn other financial institutions to tighten security measures. The Moscow-based cyber security firm **Group IB** traced the origins of the malware and the hackers to a code developed by the US **National Security Agency** (NSA) which was leaked and then used in the **WannaCry** ransomware attack that caused global disruption last month, according to an AFP report. Reuters