Nagoya port resumes some operations after ransomware attack

Blog By Daniel Michan Published on July 8, 2023

On Thursday afternoon, the Port of Nagoya began resuming its operations gradually, according to the Nagoya Harbor Transportation Association.

Earlier this week. A suspected Russian ransomware attack had disrupted cargo packing procedures at the port.

In a statement, the association mentioned that operations at one cargo terminal had resumed at 3 p.m. The aim was to restart another terminal by 5:30 p.m., followed by three others by 6:30 p.m. At the same time, systems at Japan's largest maritime port were restored earlier. It took longer for operations to fully recover.

The recovery process was delayed due to the retrieval of a significant amount of deleted data.

The ransomware attack occurred on Tuesday morning, causing the container terminal in Aichi Prefecture to halt operations, as the Nagoya Harbor Transportation Authority stated on Wednesday.

When asked about the attack during a press conference on Thursday, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno emphasized that bolstering security measures and countermeasures against such threats become increasingly crucial as cybersecurity risks grow more complex.

Toyota Motor Corporation affirmed that Tuesday's attack in Nagoya would not impact new car shipments for now but stated that imported and exported parts could only be loaded or unloaded at the port once the problem is resolved. However, there have been no production disruptions reported as of Thursday morning. Nagoya is not alone in experiencing targeting from malware recently; several ports globally have faced similar attacks.

Last Christmas, hackers breached computer systems at Portugal's Port of Lisbon and caused days-long disruptions in operations. Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust, India's busiest container port, also fell victim to a ransomware attack last year in 2021. South Africa's port and rail company endured an assault from a strain of ransomware reportedly linked to groups from Eastern Europe and Russia, according to Japanese authorities. There has been an increase in such attacks. In the previous year. A cyberattack targeted a supplier of Toyota in Aichi Prefecture. Resulting in the temporary shutdown of operations at 14 factories.