Business Continuity Management / Disaster Recovery , Cybercrime , Fraud Management & Cybercrime

South African Port Operations Disrupted by Cyberattack

Transnet, Which Operates the Ports, Is Investigating Incident
South African Port Operations Disrupted by Cyberattack
A port in Cape Town, South Africa that was disrupted by a cyberattack (Photo: Wikipedia)

A massive cyberattack has disrupted container operations at a port in Cape Town, South Africa, and a port in Durban also was affected, Reuters reports.

See Also: Cybersecurity for the SMB: Steps to Improve Defenses on a Smaller Scale

Reuters says an email sent from Cape Town Harbor Carriers Association to its members states: "Please note that the port operating systems have been cyberattacked and there will be no movement of cargo until the system is restored."

Service Provider Hit

Transnet, a company that operates the Durban and Cape Town ports and a railway network that transports minerals and other goods, says it's experiencing disruption to some of its IT applications and the source of this problem is being investigated.

Transnet’s website was still down Friday evening. The company says its container terminals were disrupted, while its freight rail, pipeline, engineering and property divisions were functioning normally.

The company did not respond to a ISMG's request for additional information. Transnet reports that it is notifying customers about the service disruption.

A report by Cape Town online news outlet News24 quoted a truck driver who said vessels are not being offloaded at the Cape Town harbor due to a “virus in the systems."


About the Author

Prajeet Nair

Prajeet Nair

Assistant Editor, Global News Desk, ISMG

Nair previously worked at TechCircle, IDG, Times Group and other publications, where he reported on developments in enterprise technology, digital transformation and other issues.




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