Breaches and incidents
VL Prosperity (US-bound VLCC, managed by HMM Ocean Service): hackers briefly accessed system connected to propulsion off Texas
Bloomberg (via gCaptain) reported that outsiders gained “temporary access to the digital system on the ship” connected to propulsion as the laden tanker...
- Disclosed
- Verification
- Reported by a reputable outlet, citing the company
What happened
- Bloomberg (via gCaptain) reported that outsiders gained “temporary access to the digital system on the ship” connected to propulsion as the laden tanker approached Galveston; a joint Coast Guard and FBI team boarded it on 21 Aug after communications were lost, and a second vessel was boarded on 24 Aug (Baird Maritime, which dates the Bloomberg report to 2 Oct).
- Root cause: not disclosed; investigators have not determined how attackers entered the system or which functions they could control.
- No attacker named; the attackers have not been identified.
- The FBI said “there are no reports of operational disruptions, vessel instability, physical danger to crews” or environmental impacts; the Coast Guard declined to comment and HMM Ocean Service confirmed the boarding.