A massive cyber attack targeting oil facilities in European ports

 A massive cyber attack targeting oil facilities in European ports

A massive cyber attack targeting oil facilities in European ports

An attack was revealed by hackers using ransomware targeting oil storage facilities in a number of European ports, specifically in Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands. Some malware disrupted the ability to deal with cargo ships.

A massive cyber attack targeted port facilities in Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium, prompting the judicial authorities to open an investigation into suspicions of "blackmail" of German operators in the oil sector.

A specialized broker in the Dutch city of Rotterdam, which includes one of the largest ports in Europe, said that the electronic hacking, which began several days ago, is related to oil storage facilities, causing disruption to deliveries in several large ports against the backdrop of high energy prices.

Europol confirmed to AFP in The Hague that it had provided assistance to "German authorities" in the case of the hack.

The attack targeted facilities in the large port city of Hamburg in northern Germany, and at least six oil terminals in the Netherlands and Belgium, according to the Belgian newspaper "De Morgen", which also mentioned the cities of Antwerp and Amsterdam.

In Germany, the Public Prosecution Office in Hamburg announced that it had opened an investigation against an unknown person on suspicion of "extortion" after the electronic attack on port facilities. "The starting point for the procedure was a criminal complaint filed by a company that was the victim of a ransomware attack," the Public Prosecution said.

"deliberate sabotage"

The prosecution confirmed that the company, called "Oil Tanking", the German branch of "Marquard & Pals" oil storage company, had fallen "the victim of an electronic incident affecting its information systems."

The incident was discovered on January 29 and led to the launch of "contingency plans" for "Oil Tanking" and "Mapa Naft", a second branch of the same group, whose "land supply" oil activities have also seen strong disruptions.

"All parties continue to work to allow our operations to return to normal at all of our facilities as soon as possible," Oil Tanking said in a statement.

According to newspaper information, what happened was a "deliberate sabotage" operation in "11 facilities of the company in Germany," noting that it mainly supplies the giant oil group "Shell".

In Belgium and the Netherlands, the cyber-attack disrupted the activities of the facilities of C-Tank, a subsidiary of the C-Invest oil storage and transshipment group, headquartered in Ghent, northwest Belgium. The river port of Ghent and the Antwerp-Zeebrugge platforms were also affected, prompting the Belgian judiciary to open an investigation.

It's not a great game.

I wonder who will punish Maine.