Australian police are investigating a cybersecurity incident that forced DP World Australia, the port operator, to suspend operations at ports in several states since Friday. An Australian Federal Police spokesperson stated, "We have initiated an investigation into the incident and will not comment further as it is an ongoing investigation."
The Australian government considered the incident on Sunday to be "serious and ongoing," which compelled DP World Australia to halt operations in multiple states since Friday. DP World Australia, a part of the UAE government-owned DP World conglomerate, ceased operations at its container terminals in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, and Fremantle in Western Australia following the discovery of the intrusion on Friday.
In a statement on Sunday, DP World Australia said it is "testing the essential core systems needed to resume normal operations and regular shipping." The company added it is also examining "the nature of data access and data theft." A spokesperson for the company did not immediately respond to a request from Reuters regarding when normal operations would resume.
Earlier, the port operator stated it is "working around the clock" to restore normal operations. Late on Saturday, Darren Goldie, the national cybersecurity coordinator appointed this year following several major cyber intrusions, mentioned that the "halt" in operations "is likely to last for several days and will impact the movement of goods to and from the country." Goldie wrote on the social media platform X, "DP World Australia announced it has restricted access to Australian port operations in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, and Fremantle while investigating the incident."
Home Affairs Minister Clare O'Neil said on Saturday that the government is coordinating the response to this "cyber incident." According to DP World, the company employs over 7,000 people in the Asia-Pacific region and has ports and terminals in 18 locations.
