World(REUTERS) A computer virus wreaked havoc on firms around the globe on Wednesday as it spread to more than 60 countries, disrupting ports from Mumbai to Los Angeles and halting work at a chocolate factory in Australia. Risk-modeling firm Cyence said economic losses from this week's attack and one last month from a virus dubbed WannaCry would likely total $8 billion. That estimate highlights the steep tolls businesses around the globe face from growth in cyber attacks that knock critical computer networks offline. MIKHAIL GOLUB via REUTERSThe virus, which researchers are calling GoldenEye or Petya, began its spread on Tuesday in Ukraine. Security experts said they believed that the goal was to disrupt computer systems across Ukraine, not extortion, saying the attack used powerful wiping software that made it impossible to recover lost data.

Source: Sunday Times June 28, 2017 22:30 UTC