Cosco cyber attack hits Long Beach services

Announcing the operational problem on its Twitter account, it stated its Pacific Container Terminal (PCT) at Long Beach is operating “smoothly” and its UK offices were also unaffected by what it referred to as a “local network breakdown” within its Americas regions in a statement on its website.

Though it initially said it had shut down its connections with other regions for “safety precautions” and “further investigations” it has now confirmed on its Facebook page that networks in other regions are secure and network applications have been recovered “in all regions except the Americas”. It added: “As of now, all business operations have been back to normal in the regions with recovered networks.”

It said it was “expected that the network applications will be gradually back to normal soon” in the Americas and it has “implemented contingency plans, such as transferring operations and conducting operations via remote access in order to ensure continuous service in the Americas.”

In the website statement dated 25 July, Cosco said: “So far, all the vessels of our company are operating as normal, and our main business operation systems are performing stably. We are glad to inform you that we have taken effective measures.

“Except for above regions affected by the network problem, the business operation within all other regions will be recovered very soon. The business operations in the affected regions are still being carried out, and we are trying best to make a full and quick recovery.”

The cyber attack follows the cross-border Petya attack which hit Maersk’s APM Terminals last June.

The Port of Long Beach has been contacted for comment.