Sydney, Australia, Nov 12 (EFE).- Australia on Sunday continued to probe a “nationally significant cyber incident” that led to the closure of major ports in the country, including Sydney and Melbourne.
“The Australian Government continues to work with DP World Australia to resolve a nationally significant cyber incident that has affected operations at a number of ports around the country,” Minister for Home Affairs Clare O’Neil said on social media platform X.
“The cyber incident at (port operator) DP World is serious and ongoing. DP World manages almost 40 percent of the goods flowing in and out of our country, and this incident is affecting the ports of Melbourne, Fremantle, Botany and Brisbane,” she added.
DP World Australia suspended operations at the Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Fremantle ports after detecting a hack on Friday.
O’Neil said that the Australian government was working “closely” with the company to “protect Australians and their interests” although she acknowledged that “managing cyber incidents of this type is incredibly complex.”
“This incident is a reminder of the serious risk that cyber attacks pose to our country, and to vital infrastructure we all rely on,” she added.
In a statement on Sunday, DP World Australia said that it “was testing key systems crucial for the resumption of normal operations and regular freight movement,” although it did not specify when operations would be resumed.
The company added that it was also investigating the nature of the data access and theft” and admitted that the incident “may cause concern for some stakeholders.”
The Australian government has convened another meeting on Sunday afternoon to address the crisis while the Australian Federal Police has announced an investigation into the alleged cyber attack, whose causes and magnitude and alleged perpetrators are still unclear. EFE
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