The Day the World Stood Still

On June 27th, 2017, a devastating cyberattack swept across the globe in less than 24 hours, causing over $10 billion in damages and bringing multinational corporations to their knees. This is the story of NotPetya, one of the most destructive cyber incidents in history.

What Happened

Join cybersecurity experts Ben and Chloe as they unpack the terrifying details of how NotPetya masqueraded as ransomware but was actually a digital weapon of mass destruction. Unlike typical ransomware, NotPetya was designed not to make money, but to obliterate data permanently. Once it infected a system, there was no recovery, no decryption key, and no hope.

The Perfect Storm

Discover how attackers infiltrated a trusted Ukrainian accounting software called M.E.Doc, turning routine software updates into trojan horses. Learn about the leaked NSA tools EternalBlue and EternalRomance that gave NotPetya its devastating spreading capabilities, allowing it to jump from one computer to entire global networks automatically.

Global Devastation

Hear about the shocking real-world consequences as major corporations fell victim. Shipping giant Maersk had to rebuild 4,000 servers and 45,000 computers, operating with pen and paper for weeks. Pharmaceutical company Merck faced $1.3 billion in losses and disrupted cancer treatment production. Even the radiation sensors at Chernobyl had to switch to manual monitoring.

Critical Lessons Learned

Explore the key cybersecurity failures that enabled this catastrophe, from unpatched systems to flat network architectures. Understand why only offline, air-gapped backups survived the attack and how proper network segmentation could have contained the damage.

Why This Still Matters

NotPetya proved that cyberattacks have profound physical consequences that can cripple global economies and critical infrastructure. In our increasingly connected world, this nightmare scenario could happen again, making these lessons more relevant than ever.

Perfect For

Business leaders, IT professionals, cybersecurity enthusiasts, and anyone who wants to understand how a few lines of malicious code can bring down the modern world. This episode breaks down complex technical concepts into engaging, accessible conversation.