DPWorld Plc is slowly resuming operations at several major ports in Australia after large-scale closures due to cyber attacks resulted in a backlog of containers ahead of the holiday season. Paul Zalai, director of Freight & Trade Alliance, said in an interview, "The major ports have started operating this morning anyway. They have either resolved the impact of the cyber attack or taken some kind of emergency measures. I am not sure about the specifics."
The FTA said earlier on Monday that DPWorld's freight handling in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane would "gradually resume". The latest news is that there are still logistical and technical problems at the three ports and the company is working through the backlog of orders.
Zalai said Brisbane appeared to be recovering better than other DPWorld terminals. He said "the situation at the Port of Melbourne is not very positive and there are no requests to leave the port at this stage", while the Port of Sydney has only just recovered and the situation in Perth is unclear.
DPWorld manages nearly 40% of Australia's inbound and outbound cargo, which means that if a single entity were to be attacked, it would have widespread economic, commercial and logistical impacts on the country. Australia's national cyber security coordinator Darren Goldie said the outage could last for days, with DPWorld's systems still not connected to the internet after being hacked on Friday.
One of the world's largest port operators, DPWorld is the latest victim of a high-profile, devastating cyberattack around the world this year.
In addition, the disruption comes at a time when DPWorld's operations are already involved in an ongoing strike by the Australian Maritime Union over pay and better working conditions.
According to the Australian Financial Review, citing a company executive, DPWorldAustralia has not received a ransom demand and it is unclear which organization is responsible.
According to the latest news from Freight & Trade Alliance, DPWorld is restricting exports from the Port of Melbourne due to a large backlog of imported goods that need to be processed. The report said there could be "unforeseen service impacts" in Sydney, with DPWorld asking for patience this week as it works through the backlog.
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