A cyberattack against one of the largest facilitators of global trade has limited access to several ports in Australia, un massive shutdown that threatens to disrupt supply chains for days.
DP World Plc detected a hack on Friday that forced it to restrict access to four of the country’s largest ports. The government called a crisis meeting on Saturday to coordinate a response, and the Coordinador National Cyber Security Officer, Darren Goldie, said the agencies will continue talks on Sundayoy will work with the company to resume operations.
“Our priority is helpDP World Australia to resolve the incident, so that they are in a position to restore access to ports operating across the country,” Goldie said in posts on X, the social media platform.s formerly known as Twitter. “This disruption is likely to continue for several days and will impact the movement of goods in and out of the country.”
DP World, one of the world’s largest port operators, is the latest victim of a series of devastating cyber attacksores and high profile globally this year. Earlier this week, Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd., the world’s largest lender by assets, was hit by a ransomware attack that blocked the clearing of some trades in the Treasury market and forced brokers to divert transactions. Ransomware hackers install malware on their victims’ systems, holding them hostage until they receive payment. It was not immediately clear if ransomware was behind the DP World attack.
DP World is still working to contain the situation and determine the effect on its systems and data, the company said in a statement.unicate sent by email on Saturday. She said she was forced to cut off access to Australian port operations to safeguard employees, customers and her networks.
The disruptions in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Fremantle threaten to hamper supply chains that were already working to fully recover from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. The attack also occurs when operationsDP World workers are embroiled in an ongoing Australian Maritime Union strike for pay and better working conditions.
