The holiday season is nearing, carrying the joy of celebration and family gatherings. However, this anticipated festive cheer may face a challenge—hackers are on the prowl, posing a potential risk to the joyous atmosphere.

As families get ready to come together in the spirit of Christmas, a recent cyber attack has targeted multiple sea ports across Australia, causing supply chain disruptions and possible shortages of imported goods.

The cyberattack, which happened on Friday, November 10, hit thousands of containers owned by DP World, a major stevedoring company handling 40 per cent of Australia’s container shipments.

This incident effectively stalled operations of ports in Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, and Fremantle.

Although ships could unload and load containers, technology systems enabling data exchange were disabled.

A cyber attack has paralysed DP World, handling 40 per cent of Australia's container shipments. Image source: Pixabay

Consequently, trucks could not access DP World's terminals for container transactions, causing substantial delays in imports and exports.

Experts predict it could take weeks before the board can catch up on deferred shipments and regular business operations.

It is estimated that there are at least 30,000 shipping containers stranded on the docks, which has sparked concerns about the downstream effects of the hampered operations on local supply chains.

Head of the Freight and Trade Alliance Paul Zalai was quoted as saying, ‘All imported containerised cargo will be impacted, which could potentially range from medical supplies through to toys for Christmas.’

‘The full impacts will be known in coming days in terms of the nature of goods stuck in the thousands of containers sitting idle at DP World’s terminals nationally.’ he added.

Experts caution that potential price increases could worsen Australia's already high inflation rate, possibly prompting the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) to raise interest rates in December.

Currently, the cash rate sits at 4.35 per cent after a 25 basis point increase.

AMP Chief Economist Shane Oliver stressed that a prolonged disruption to DP World’s operations would be a supply shock, potentially compelling the RBA to make adjustments to interest rates.

‘If it is a few days then I think we can get through without too much impact. But, if it is weeks, however, it could be a supply shock, and they tend to be inflationary. That would mark a bigger problem, and then it also presents a dilemma for the Reserve Bank,’ explained Mr Oliver.

Video source: 7NEWS​

So far, Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neill has only described the incident as ‘serious and ongoing’, with DP World saying that they have made ‘significant strides’ in addressing the incident without providing any timeline for when regular operations will resume.

‘DP World Australia is working closely with government and private sector stakeholders to identify and retrieve sensitive inbound freight,’ said the company.

The attack remains unclaimed, and no ransom has been received as of yet.

Key Takeaways

• A major cyber attack shut down Australian seaports last Friday, causing a significant supply chain disruption.
• DP World, which manages 40 per cent of Australia’s container shipments, was hit by the cyber attack, restricting access to ports in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Fremantle.
• The disruption is expected to cause serious delays, leaving 30,000 shipping containers stranded on the docks, potentially affecting the availability of imported goods, including Christmas toys.
• The cyber attack could induce price rises, adding to Australia's inflation rate and potentially forcing the Reserve Bank of Australia to increase interest rates.

Members, what do you think of this story? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

 

[mylittletibbies]

What next!!!!!!,

 

[magpie1]

Scammers have become a world wide pestilence in the digital world that we live in.

 

[Rob44]

The holiday season is nearing, carrying the joy of celebration and family gatherings. However, this anticipated festive cheer may face a challenge—hackers are on the prowl, posing a potential risk to the joyous atmosphere.

As families get ready to come together in the spirit of Christmas, a recent cyber attack has targeted multiple sea ports across Australia, causing supply chain disruptions and possible shortages of imported goods.

The cyberattack, which happened on Friday, November 10, hit thousands of containers owned by DP World, a major stevedoring company handling 40 per cent of Australia’s container shipments.

This incident effectively stalled operations of ports in Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, and Fremantle.

Although ships could unload and load containers, technology systems enabling data exchange were disabled.

View attachment 34679

A cyber attack has paralysed DP World, handling 40 per cent of Australia's container shipments. Image source: Pixabay

Consequently, trucks could not access DP World's terminals for container transactions, causing substantial delays in imports and exports.

Experts predict it could take weeks before the board can catch up on deferred shipments and regular business operations.

It is estimated that there are at least 30,000 shipping containers stranded on the docks, which has sparked concerns about the downstream effects of the hampered operations on local supply chains.

Head of the Freight and Trade Alliance Paul Zalai was quoted as saying, ‘All imported containerised cargo will be impacted, which could potentially range from medical supplies through to toys for Christmas.’

‘The full impacts will be known in coming days in terms of the nature of goods stuck in the thousands of containers sitting idle at DP World’s terminals nationally.’ he added.

Experts caution that potential price increases could worsen Australia's already high inflation rate, possibly prompting the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) to raise interest rates in December.

Currently, the cash rate sits at 4.35 per cent after a 25 basis point increase.

AMP Chief Economist Shane Oliver stressed that a prolonged disruption to DP World’s operations would be a supply shock, potentially compelling the RBA to make adjustments to interest rates.

‘If it is a few days then I think we can get through without too much impact. But, if it is weeks, however, it could be a supply shock, and they tend to be inflationary. That would mark a bigger problem, and then it also presents a dilemma for the Reserve Bank,’ explained Mr Oliver.

Video source: 7NEWS​

So far, Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neill has only described the incident as ‘serious and ongoing’, with DP World saying that they have made ‘significant strides’ in addressing the incident without providing any timeline for when regular operations will resume.

‘DP World Australia is working closely with government and private sector stakeholders to identify and retrieve sensitive inbound freight,’ said the company.

The attack remains unclaimed, and no ransom has been received as of yet.

Key Takeaways

• A major cyber attack shut down Australian seaports last Friday, causing a significant supply chain disruption.
• DP World, which manages 40 per cent of Australia’s container shipments, was hit by the cyber attack, restricting access to ports in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Fremantle.
• The disruption is expected to cause serious delays, leaving 30,000 shipping containers stranded on the docks, potentially affecting the availability of imported goods, including Christmas toys.
• The cyber attack could induce price rises, adding to Australia's inflation rate and potentially forcing the Reserve Bank of Australia to increase interest rates.

Members, what do you think of this story? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

The wonders of the modern digital world. Why not employ lots of clerks with quill pens, skilled in copper-plate script, to fill in forms and ledgers etc sort of like the East India Company and Hudson's Bay Company that used to do import and export for around 350 years with extreme efficiency in trade, besides conquering greater India, Burma, Malaya and indeed Canada for the British Empire.

So the "supply chain' gets disrupted by an idiot with a keyboard, up go the prices of everything from petrol to peanut butter and the idiots of the RBA find another specious excuse to crank up interest rates and the big 4 banks set about profiteering once again at our expense. Ah, this super-efficient modern digital world!