Australia ports blocked after ‘cyber incident’

The DP World group has informed the government that the disruption to operations at its ports will last “several days,” said the Australian government’s cybersecurity coordinator, Darren Goldie, on Sunday on the online service X (formerly Twitter).

DP World’s computer system “remains disconnected from the Internet, which has a significant impact on operations,” Goldie continued. Home Secretary Clare O’Neil also said on X that the incident was “serious” and ongoing. The government held another crisis meeting with the responsible experts and the federal police began investigations.

DP World had to interrupt the internet connection of its transshipment terminals in the port cities of Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Fremantle on Friday due to “unauthorized access”. The cargo can be unloaded from the ships, but can then no longer be transported any further. According to Interior Secretary O’Neill, DP World handles “nearly 40 percent of the goods that enter or leave our country.”

The company reported on Sunday “significant progress” in its efforts to normalize operations. At the same time, he is investigating “the nature of data access and data theft”. In particular, he is trying “hard” to find out whether personal data is affected.

Cybersecurity experts say inadequate security measures and the accumulation of sensitive customer data have made Australia a lucrative target for hackers. The government created the post of national cybersecurity coordinator in July after a series of high-profile cyberattacks that affected the personal data of millions of people.

Last year, 76,000 crime incidents were reported to the Australian Cybersecurity Center. But according to the experts, the number of unreported cases is likely to be significantly higher.