Australia holds cyber crisis talks as ports disrupted

SYDNEY: Australian government agencies held crisis talks on Sunday in response to a cyber incident that has disrupted operations at key ports across the country.

Port operator DP World halted internet connectivity at ports in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Fremantle on Friday to prevent “any ongoing unauthorised access” to its network, a spokesperson said.

The ongoing disruption has not prevented containers from being taken off vessels, but trucks needed to transport them have not been able to drive in or out of the terminals, DP World senior director Blake Tierney said in a statement.

“The company is working around the clock to restore normal operations safely,” he added. Australian Federal Police have said they are investigating the incident. The “interruption is likely to continue for a number of days and will impact the movement of goods into and out of the country”, National Cyber Security Coordinator Darren Goldie said on X.

“DP World Australia has advised it has restricted access to its Australian port operations while it investigates the incident,” he added. After holding emergency meetings on Saturday, Goldie again convened the National Coordination Mechanism on Sunday with representatives from government, maritime and logistics sectors to manage the government´s response.

Australia´s National Emergency Management Agency also attended the talks. Goldie, an air marshal in the Royal Australian Air Force, was appointed the inaugural national coordinator last July in response to several cyber attacks.