Petya

Petya is a diminutive form of the given name Petr or Petar in several Slavic languages, including Russian, Ukrainian, and Bulgarian. It functions as an affectionate nickname for a male bearer of Petr or Petar and is sometimes used as a stand-alone given name in its own right. The name derives from the Greek Petros, meaning rock or stone. Spelling and pronunciation vary by language and transliteration, with forms such as Petia and Petya common in Cyrillic-script contexts.

In cybersecurity, the term Petya is strongly associated with a family of ransomware. The original Petya ransomware was identified in 2016 and targeted systems by encrypting the master file table, demanding a ransom in exchange for a decryption key. A broader and more destructive outbreak in 2017, commonly referred to as NotPetya, spread through a compromised update mechanism of Ukrainian software provider MeDoc and via network propagation. The malware encrypted files and data in a way that made recovery very difficult, and in many cases paying the ransom did not restore access. The incident caused widespread disruption across Ukraine and globally, affecting organizations in various industries, including logistics, manufacturing, and finance. Investigations attributed the attack to a state-backed actor, though attribution remains contested and complex. NotPetya is widely studied as a prominent example of a wiper masquerading as ransomware and as a reminder of the risks posed by software supply-chain compromises.