Ukraine central bank warns of new cyber-attack risk.

The Ukrainian central bank said on Friday it had warned state-owned and private lenders of the appearance of new malware as security services said Ukraine faced cyber-attacks like those that knocked out global systems in June.

The June 27 attack, dubbed NotPetya, took down many Ukrainian government agencies and businesses, before spreading rapidly through corporate networks of multinationals with operations or suppliers in Eastern Europe.

"On Aug 11..., the central bank promptly informed banks about the appearance of new malicious code, its features, compromise indicators and the need to implement precautionary measures to prevent infection," the central bank told Reuters in emailed comments.

According to its letter to banks, seen by Reuters, the new malware is spread by opening e-mail attachments of word documents.

Kiev's central bank has since been working with the government-backed Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT) and police to boost the defences of the Ukrainian banking sector by quickly sharing information.

The state cyber police and Security and Defence Council have said Ukraine could be targeted on Aug. 24 with a NotPetya-style attack aimed at destabilising the country as it celebrates its 1991 independence from the Soviet Union.

 CREDIT: Reuters