Maersk faces a significant cybersecurity breach, with hackers demanding $5 million after stealing 100 GB of data from an old IT system.
One of the world's largest container shipping companies, Maersk, has confirmed that hackers have breached one of the company's legacy IT systems and stolen data. The hacker group allegedly responsible for the attack claims to have stolen 100 GB of data and is demanding a ransom of 5 million dollars.
The Denmark-based shipping and logistics giant A.P. Moller-Maersk is facing a new cybersecurity breach. In an official statement made on November 11, the company announced that unauthorized access had been gained to one of the legacy IT systems acquired from a previously purchased business, and data had been extracted from the system.
Maersk's cybersecurity team launched a comprehensive investigation following the detection of the incident. The company stated that necessary measures have been taken to secure the affected system.
According to information reported by the cybersecurity news platform BleepingComputer, a hacker group named WhiteArmor has claimed responsibility for the attack, asserting that it has seized approximately 100 GB of data belonging to Maersk.
The group demanded 5 million dollars worth of Bitcoin in exchange for not publishing the data.
It is alleged that the data purportedly seized includes driver records, passwords, delivery documents, order information, and records related to logistics operations.
It has been suggested that the system targeted by the attackers is linked to LF Logistics, a Hong Kong-based company that Maersk acquired for 3.6 billion dollars in 2022. However, Maersk has not confirmed these claims or the connection to the mentioned system.
In the statement made by the company, it was noted that initial investigations strongly indicate that sensitive data has not been disclosed.
It was recorded that the cyber attack was limited to a local system, and no evidence was found that it spread to other Maersk systems or to connected platforms used by the company's customers and business partners.
Maersk stated that customers can continue to make container reservations and track their shipments through digital platforms, and no disruptions in operations are expected.
The new cybersecurity breach has brought back memories of the major NotPetya attack that Maersk experienced in 2017.
The attack, which occurred in June 2017, significantly disabled the company's global IT infrastructure, causing serious disruptions in container shipping and port terminal operations.
Maersk had reported the cost of the attack to be between 250 million and 300 million dollars.
In the recent incident, the company indicated that customer operations were not affected while announcing that the investigation is ongoing and new findings will be shared with the public.
Source: SeaNews Türkiye
