A sophisticated cyber attack involving Ransomware is said to have disrupted one or more computer servers at the IT facility of the Port of San Diego. It’s said that the port officials identified the attack at first on Tuesday and then investigated it further to identify that the servers related to Harbor Police and the port employees were hit by a malware variant known as Ransomware.
After getting a confirmation of the issue, Randa Coniglio, CEO, Port of San Diego released a press statement yesterday saying that the servers of the company were disrupted by a cyber incident and special teams have been mobilized to minimize the impact and restore the system functionalities.
The cyber team working on the attack is yet to determine the damage caused by the incident and is yet to figure out the culprits.
A source reporting to Cybersecurity Insiders from the company says that the attack looks similar to that of the one which took place against the city of Atlanta in March this year where key services like wireless communications were locked up in exchange to a bitcoins ransom.
Port authorities have already reported the incident to the California Office of Emergency Services and the County of San Diego office of Emergency Services on Wednesday.
Note- Founded in 1962, the Port of San Diego happens to be one of the largest containership ports of America and is known to bring in nearly 3,000,000 metric tons of Cargo per year. The port is divided into two terminals spread on 221 acres and brings in inbound cargo such as refrigerated commodities, fertilizers, cement, forest products, and FMCG products.
