The Port of Halifax, along with the ports of Montreal and Quebec in Canada, were hit by a cyber attack on March 8th. The attack resulted in the shutdown of external websites of the Port of Halifax, while the sites of the other two ports are also offline.
However, the attacks have not impacted the operations of any of the three ports, with cargo continuing to move as normal.
Lane Farguson, spokesperson for the Port of Halifax, stated that while the external website was down, internal systems continue to operate normally, and there has been no compromise of internal data.
Likewise, both the Port of Montreal and Port of Quebec have not reported any effect on their operations or data breaches as a result of the attack.
Although the nature of the cyber attack was not disclosed, it was reported to be a denial-of-service (DoS) attack. DoS attacks are a form of cyber attack that overwhelm servers with a flood of requests, making them inaccessible to regular users.
These types of attacks can be carried out using botnets or other compromised computers, and are often launched by hacktivists or criminal organizations.
The cyber attacks on Canadian ports highlight the ongoing threat that cyber security poses to critical infrastructure. As ports and shipping companies rely heavily on digital systems for managing cargo and logistics, such attacks can disrupt operations and potentially cause significant economic damage.
In response, port authorities must continue to invest in cyber security measures and enhance their resilience against cyber threats.
