Fontanka

Fontanka is a Russian media outlet headquartered in Russia. The organisation operates as a news provider, delivering information to audiences within the country and potentially beyond. As a media entity, its core activity involves gathering, producing, and distributing news content. The outlet serves readers interested in current events, culture, and public affairs. Its headquarters location situates it within the Russian media landscape.

In October 2017, Fontanka was among the Russian media outlets targeted by the Bad Rabbit ransomware attack. The malware spread through compromised websites that posed as Adobe Flash updates to lure victims. Once executed, Bad Rabbit encrypted files on infected systems and demanded a ransom payment for decryption. The attack primarily affected organisations in Russia and Ukraine, with additional infections detected in Turkey, Germany, Japan, Bulgaria, the United States, South Korea, and Poland. Researchers noted technical similarities to the earlier NotPetya malware, although Bad Rabbit did not rely on the EternalBlue exploit. Instead, it propagated by stealing network credentials and scanning shared folders, and its code contained references to characters from the television series Game of Thrones. The campaign subsided as the attackers’ servers went offline and compromised websites remediated the infection vectors.