US-Bound Ships Targeted in Suspected Cyberattacks
Two commercial ships heading to the United States were boarded by US Coast Guard and FBI teams after authorities received indications that their computer networks had been compromised, Reuters reported.
The operations took place in the Gulf of Mexico on August 21 and 24. The FBI said both vessels showed signs of network compromise. The Coast Guard said “foreign cyber actors” were involved, but neither agency identified the attackers or gave further details.
Maritime security company Dryad Global confirmed that one of the vessels was the Liberian-flagged VL Prosperity. The ship is currently anchored near Galveston, Texas, according to LSEG and MarineTraffic data.
Iranian news agency Mehr reported in August that VL Prosperity had suffered what it called a major cyberattack while sailing through the Strait of Gibraltar. The ship reportedly lost communications for about 30 hours. Mehr also claimed that hackers had accessed engine-room systems and interfered with engine cooling, speed, fuel and engine-oil systems. The agency did not identify those responsible. These claims have not been independently confirmed by US authorities.
Corey Ranslem, CEO of Dryad Global, said attacks targeting individual ships are not particularly difficult to carry out. He also warned that such incidents could become more common in the near future.
