Major Port Operator Resumes Operation After Cyberattack, Warns of More Disruptions

A gantry crane adorned with a logo for ports operator DP World at an entrance to the Port Botany compound in Sydney on Nov. 13, 2023. David Gray/AFP via Getty Images

Australia’s second-largest port operator has resumed operation after a cyberattack on Nov. 10 forced the company to suspend all operating activities while putting pressure on the country’s supply chains.

DP World Australia, which handles about 40 percent of all freight in and out of the country, announced on Nov. 13 that operations had resumed at its ports in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, and Fremantle from 9 a.m., three days after the company suffered the surprise online attack.

“The company expects that approximately 5,000 containers will move out of the four Australian terminals today,” DP World Australia said in a statement obtained by The Epoch Times.

Nevertheless, the port operator expected that disruptions to its service would continue for some time as it was trying to resolve the cyberattack.

“The ongoing investigation and response to protect networks and systems may cause some necessary, temporary disruptions to their services in the coming days,” it said.

“This is part of an investigation process and resuming normal logistical operations at this scale.”

While DP World Australia announced the resumption of its port activities, the company said the incident hadn’t concluded and that it would continue working with the police and authorities to deal with the aftermath.

“DP World Australia’s investigation and ongoing remediation work are likely to continue for some time,” the company said.

Meanwhile, National Cyber Security Coordinator Darren Goldie said the cyberattack was contained as DP World Australia was able to disconnect from the internet and isolate its system.

However, Mr. Goldie noted that it was still unknown who was responsible for the attack and that the Australian government’s current priority was to help DP World restore its cargo port operations.

“The matter of attribution when it comes to a nation formally attributing a threat actor takes significant time, and there’s a very high bar for the standard of proof we'd need, so I would not expect the Australian government to be attributing that anytime soon,” he told ABC News.

It’s currently unclear whether hackers were able to steal any data.

Supply Chains Under Threat

The sudden cyberattack on DP World Australia has sparked fears about a massive supply chain disruption that could cause goods shortages across the country ahead of the Christmas holiday season.

Some economists believe the impact of the incident would flow through to the economy, potentially spurring the Reserve Bank to lift the interest rate again in December.

A worker moves containers at the compound of ports operator DP World Australia at Port Botany in Sydney on Nov. 13, 2023. David Gray/AFP via Getty Images

The Freight and Trade Alliance, a peak industry body, warned of heavy economic consequences if disruptions to port activities were prolonged.

“An ongoing delay is going to have a significant impact on all import and export containerised trade,” Freight and Trade Alliance head Paul Zalai said, as reported by The Sydney Morning Herald.

“This incident does not discriminate. All imported containerised cargo will be impacted, which could potentially range from medical supplies through to toys for Christmas.

“The full impacts will be known in coming days in terms of the nature of goods stuck in the thousands of containers sitting idle at DP World’s terminals nationally.”

Government Admits Australia Is Vulnerable

After the hack on DP World Australia was announced, Home Affairs and Cybersecurity Minister Clare O'Neil acknowledged the weakness of Australia’s network security.

“It does show how vulnerable we have been in this country to cyber incidents,” she said.

The minister said that the government was trying to deal with the attack in a way that reduced its effects on Australians as much as possible.

This isn’t the first time that Ms. O'Neil has openly admitted that Australia faced a serious cybersecurity issue.

In October 2022, the minister said the country was in a bad position after the databases of several major corporations, including Optus and Medibank, were breached, causing millions of Australians to lose personal information to hackers.