Australia’s second largest port operator – DP World Australia has shut down all operations because of a cyber security incident, impacting the movement of goods in and out of the country.
The operator which manages ports in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Fremantle, is responsible for 40 per cent of maritime freight in and out of the country said it began responding to a cybersecurity incident on Friday.
Ships are still able to unload freight, but the freight cannot be processed, and as such cannot then leave the port site.
A spokesperson for the company said “To safeguard our employees, customers, and our networks, we have restricted landside access to our Australian port operations while we continue our investigation.“
The operator said it took immediate action upon discovering the breach which included disconnecting internet connectivity, which prevented any further unauthorised access.
This action however resulted in key systems that underpin operations at its ports to be paralised.
The company said on Saturday evening it was continuing to respond to the situation “around the clock” and was ensuring that “sensitive inbound freight” could be still be processed.
