The US Coast Guard and FBI boarded two 'commercial vessels' bound for the United States last month in the Gulf of Mexico after receiving a report that hackers had hacked into their 'computer networks.
The unusual operation was carried out between August 21 and 24 on two foreign-flagged vessels. It comes at a time when US authorities are grappling with a number of cyber incidents which media reports have linked Iran to since the outbreak conflict between Washington and Tehran.
The FBI stated that they boarded both vessels after "receiving indications that the networks of both vessels had been compromised."
The Coast Guard, who referred to only the August 21 boarding?said "foreign hackers" were involved, but did not identify them.
The Coast Guard was contacted by the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency for more information about these incidents. The US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency "referred" questions to the Coast Guard.
Corey Ranslem said his company, Dryad Global (a maritime security group), had confirmed the Liberian flagged VL Prosperity as one of the vessels. According to LSEG ship tracking data and MarineTraffic, the vessel is currently anchored around Galveston, Texas. Liberia’s flag registry didn't immediately respond to a comment request.
Mehr, the Iranian news agency, reported that VL Prosperity suffered a "major cyberattack" as it was?transiting across the Strait of Gibraltar on August 20, and that communications were?blocked for 30 hours.
Mehr reported, citing an unnamed member of the crew, that hackers also had infiltrated engine-room systems. They reduced the cooling flow, increased engine speed and disabled the ship’s fuel and engine-oil tanks.
The Iranian news agency didn't say who they thought was behind the alleged assault.
Ranslem says that despite its dramatic effects, a cyberattack on a ship is not difficult to execute.
He said, "We expect these attacks to continue in the near future and expand."
(source: Reuters)
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