Australian ports make ‘good progress’ after cyberattack, but still days from being resolved

The Australian government said on Monday a cyber incident that forced one of its largest ports operators to suspend operations could be resolved within days and that the company was making “good progress” to bring activities back online.

“The company’s advice … was that this would be a case of days, not weeks. I’ve been in contact with the company again this morning and they’re making good progress,” the government’s Cyber Security Coordinator Darren Goldie told ABC Radio.

DP World Australia, which manages about 40 per cent of the goods that flow in and out of the country, said the breach had halted operations at the containers terminals in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Western Australia’s Fremantle since Friday.

The government had not identified the perpetrators, he said.

The company, part of Dubai’s state-owned DP World, did not immediately respond to a request seeking comment. In a statement on Sunday, DP World said the company was testing key systems crucial for the resumption of regular freight movement.

Australia has seen a rise in cyber intrusions since late last year, prompting the government in February to reform rules and set up an agency to help coordinate responses to hacks.

“[The DP World breach] does show how vulnerable we have been in this country to cyber incidents and how much better we need to work together to make sure we keep our citizens safe,” Cyber Security Minister Clare O’Neil told ABC Radio.

The breach comes as the government prepares to release soon details on its proposed cybersecurity laws.

Australia sees ‘progress’ in restoring port operations after cyberattack

O’Neil said the rules would also bring telecommunication companies under “strict cyber requirements”, after an outage last week at telco Optus cut off internet and phone connections to nearly half of its population for about 12 hours.

The disruptions in Australia also come as the company is embroiled in an ongoing strike by the Maritime Union of Australia over wages and better work conditions.

DP World Australia hasn’t received a ransom demand and doesn’t know which organisation is responsible, the Australian Financial Review cited a top company official as saying.

Australia’s ports are critical to its economy, with the nation moving 98 per cent of its trade by sea, according to Ports Australia, a leading industry body. A lot of what Australians use on a daily basis – from computers to clothes and medicine are imported – while the country is a key agriculture, energy and mining exporter.