FBI confirms two Texas-bound oil tankers hit by hackers who disabled coms and put the engines into overdrive — and Iran is possibly to blame
Investigators found malicious cyber activity aboard both foreign-flagged vessels, and officials said no operational disruptions or environmental impacts were reported.
- On Thursday, the FBI and Coast Guard confirmed they boarded two foreign-flagged oil tankers in the Gulf of Mexico last month after hackers breached the vessels' computer networks.
- Investigators found malicious cyber activity aboard the VL Prosperity and Kohaku, both bound for Texas, raising concerns about compromised navigation and cargo control systems.
- The 333-meter Prosperity, transporting 2.3 million barrels of oil, reportedly suffered engine room interference and lost communications for 30 hours during its transit through the Strait of Gibraltar.
- Crews cooperated with specialized FBI and Coast Guard cyber teams during the investigation, with officials reporting no operational disruptions, vessel instability, or environmental damage.
- CISA has characterized the attacks as "opportunistic" in nature, while U.S. authorities monitor nearly 20 vessels globally for similar cyber threats amid growing maritime security concerns.
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TechCrunch
IT Security News - cybersecurity, infosecurity newsFBI, Coast Guard boarded hacked oil tankers heading towards US coast
The feds are said to be investigating the compromise of the tankers' networks, which in one case interfered with one of the tanker's navigation and propulsion systems.
Third tanker in a month hit by a suspected cyber incident, this time carrying US gas to Europe
An LNG tanker carrying American liquefied natural gas to Italy stopped short of its destination this month, after its crew found they could no longer reach some of the ship’s internal control systems. The crew reported it as a suspected cyberattack, but what it actually was has not been established. The Vivit Africa LNG was […] This story continues at The Next Web
Another Tanker Suffers Failure as Crew Suspect Cyber Attack
A liquefied natural gas tanker bringing fuel from the US to Europe suffered a systems failure that the crew reported as a suspected cyber attack, according to people familiar with the matter. In the latest of a number of potential cybersecurity incidents on tankers, the Vivit Africa LNG was sailing east in the Mediterranean and […]
The ship Vivit Africa, loaded in Louisiana with LNG for Italy, lost access to several internal control systems and turned around before arriving at port.
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