Australian ports operator suffers ‘cyber security incident’

The Australian government is coordinating a response to a cyber security incident that forced ports operator DP World Australia to suspend operations at ports in several states.

A DP World Australia spokesperson told Reuters that operations at impacted ports were not yet restored.

A statement said the company was “working around the clock to restore normal operations safely” after the breach was detected late on Friday.

Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil said on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, that the government was coordinating a response.

Australia’s National Cyber Security Coordinator, appointed earlier this year in response to several major data breaches, was managing the official response to the incident, O’Neil said.

DP World Australia, part of Dubai’s state-owned ports giant DP World, operates four container terminals in Australia in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Western Australia’s Fremantle.

According to DP World, in the Asia Pacific region it employs more than 7000 people and has ports and terminals in 18 locations.

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AndyC

Andy Curtis is an award-winning security consultant, researcher and public speaker. He has been working in the computer security industry since the early 1990s, having been employed by state and federal government, leading healthcare and banking providers across three continents. He has given talks about computer security for some of the world’s largest companies, worked with law enforcement agencies on investigations into hacking groups, and is a regular voice on TV and radio explaining IT security threats.

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