Jun 29, 2017: One of the cargo terminals of Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) has been the recent victim of the latest global ransomware attack that crippled several multinational firms.
JNPT’s Gateway Terminals India (GTI), which is operated in a joint venture with Danish firm AP Moller Maersk, was shut for exports after the firm was affected by the ransomware Petya, which hit organisations across the US and Europe on Tuesday.
In a statement on its website, Maersk said, “We can confirm that on Tuesday 27 June, A.P. Moller-Maersk was hit, as part of a global cyber-attack named Petya, affecting multiple sites and select business units. We are responding to the situation to contain and limit the impact and uphold operations. We continue to assess and manage the situation to minimise the impact on our customers and partners. We will update when we have more information.”
The recent wave of cyberattacks, first reported in Ukraine on Tuesday, uses tools similar to WannaCry, a ransomware that had hit systems across the world a few weeks earlier. Ransomware holds computers and data to ransom, usually in the form of bitcoins.
The GTI was one of the 76 terminals that Maersk operates worldwide, to be hit by it.
The Ministry of Shipping released a statement saying that steps were being taken to ensure minimum disturbance to trade, transporters and more importantly local citizens.
The GTI handles 1.82 million tonnes equivalent units of cargo per year. According to reports, export activities have been suspended for the time being.