Australia Holds Crisis Talks As 'serious' Cyber Incident Hits Ports

Sydney, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 12th Nov, 2023) Australian government agencies held crisis talks on Sunday in response to a "serious and ongoing" cyber incident that has disrupted operations at key ports across the country.

Port operator DP World halted internet connectivity at its terminals in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Fremantle on Friday to prevent "any ongoing unauthorised access" to its network, a company spokesperson said.

Home Affairs and Cyber Security Minister Clare O'Neil said Sunday on social media platform X, formerly Twitter, that the incident is "serious and ongoing".

"DP World manages almost 40 percent of the goods flowing in and out of our country," she said.

The disruption has not prevented containers from being taken off vessels but trucks needed to transport them have not been able to drive in or out of the terminals, DP World senior director Blake Tierney said.

Tierney said in a statement the company has made "significant strides" working with cybersecurity experts and is testing key systems "crucial for the resumption of regular freight movement".

The company was seeking to restore normal operations "as quickly and safely as possible", he said, and was investigating "the nature of data access and data theft".

"DP World Australia is working hard to assess whether any personal information has been impacted," Tierney said.

Australian Federal Police have said they are investigating the incident.

National Cyber Security Coordinator Darren Goldie said on X on Saturday the disruption to port operations is "likely to continue for a number of days and will impact the movement of goods into and out" of the country.

"DP World Australia has advised it has restricted access to its Australian port operations while it investigates the incident," he said.