Some port operations have resumed, but the Australian government said ’it does not mean this incident has concluded’; more than three days into the attack, the company said it is still operating under an emergency ’business continuity plan’
DP World Australia’s port operations have been taken down in a cyber attack that Australia’s National Cyber Security coordinator Air Marshal Darren Goldie said his governmental department, which oversees cyber-security policy and incident response, had been notified of on 10 November.
DP World said it has been working to re-establish its portside freight operations in major Australian ports including Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Fremantle, in the wake of the cyber-security incident.
"Currently, DP World Australia teams are testing key systems crucial for the resumption of normal operations and regular freight movement," the company said.
Air Marshal Goldie said "remediation work" on the incident is likely to continue "for some time".
With worries over added disruption to Australia’s supply chains, the Australian government convened a multi-agency task force that included the National Emergency Management Agency to maintain communications with DP World "to ensure government and industry stakeholders have appropriate situational awareness".
The Australian Federal Police are investigating the incident, according to Air Marshal Goldie.
DP World Australia said it had not yet been able to determine whether the cyber attack had compromised its own and customers’ data.
"A key line of inquiry in this ongoing investigation is the nature of data access and data theft. DP World Australia appreciates this development may cause concern for some stakeholders. DP World Australia is working hard to assess whether any personal information has been impacted and has taken proactive steps to engage the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner," the company said.
DP World said it will continue to investigate and undertake ’remediation work’ around potential data breaches as it also continues to attempt to "identify and retrieve sensitive inbound freight".
"DP World has advised the Australian government that the timeframe for interruptions to continue is likely to be a number of days, rather than weeks. It also advised that despite the disruption, it is able to access sensitive freight at the ports if necessary – for example, in a medical emergency," Air Marshal Goldie said.
DP World manages roughly 40% of goods entering and leaving Australia and said operations at its ports had resumed at 09:00 am, local time, with some 5,000 containers being moved out of terminals in the four Australian ports affected by the cyber attack.
The ports operator has also been affected by worker strikes at its facilities since October, with the Maritime Union of Australia extending protected industrial action through 20 November, last week.
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