Cyber attack disrupts operations of major carriers, closes port terminals

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Updated Feb 5, 2020
FedEx’s TNT Express, a European-based carrier, was hit by the GoldenEye ransomware attack.FedEx’s TNT Express, a European-based carrier, was hit by the GoldenEye ransomware attack.

Another broad scale cyber attack, the second one in a month, has crippled computer systems at some of the world’s largest carriers, including FedEx’s European trucking subsidiary TNT Express and A.P. Moller-Maersk, the world’s largest maritime carrier, accounting for 16 percent of the world’s cargo.

Trucks servicing Maersk terminals at the Port of Los Angeles were told to avoid the terminal, according to the Long Beach Press Telegram. Maersk’s terminal is the largest at the Port of Los Angeles. The Port of New York and New Jersey also said Thursday its Maersk terminal was also closed for the third consecutive day.

The cyber attack, dubbed GoldenEye or Petya, began in the Ukraine and spread into other parts of Europe and eventually globally. Like the WannaCry ransomware attack in late May, the GoldenEye/Petya bug attacks users’ systems, locks them out of key files and demands $300 in Bitcoin to unlock them.

FedEx confirmed Thursday in a statement to Overdrive its TNT Express was a victim of the attack. “Like many other companies worldwide, TNT Express operations have been significantly affected by an information system virus. No data breach is known to have occurred,” the company said in a statement. “The operations of all other FedEx companies are unaffected. Remediation steps and contingency plans are being implemented.”

A.P. Moller-Maersk confirmed on Twitter “multiple sites and select business units” were affected, but did not specify where terminals were closed or when the company planned to reopen them.

“We have shut down a number of systems to help contain the issue,” the company said on Twitter Wednesday. “The majority of our terminals are now operational. Some of these terminals are operating slower than usual or with limited functionality.”

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