New Zealand’s Lyttleton Port has scheduled what it’s calling “an unavoidable urgent systems outage” to protect its systems, according to a report by portstrategy.com. The outage will affect Lyttleton’s container terminal and its inland ports and depots.
The outage will last from Tuesday at 11 p.m. until Wednesday at 7 a.m.
“It is vital that our IT department put measures in place to limit the risk of attack o out IT systems,” the port said in a statement. “(The outage) will allow the port to apply the required security measures necessary to respond to this threat that is affecting systems worldwide.”
During the outage, Lyttleton’s operations will be temporarily suspended. No shipping services are scheduled during the period, according to portstrategy.com.
The “WannaCry” ransomware has already caused damage elsewhere. In the UK, the National Health System was attacked, and patient records were reportedly compromised. Germany’s Deutsche Bahn railway system, Spanish telecommunications giant Telefonica, US delivery and logistics firm FedEx and the Russian interior ministry were also among the targets.
Although the ransom demanded by the cyber criminals has been a relatively low $300 US, the losses involved have been much higher. “If you’re a hospital that turned away patients, if you’re a global delivery company that can’t send a package or a telecom company in Spain, Russia or China, the financial statement impact from the business interruption is much larger than the $300 (ransom),” Kevin Kalinich, global head of
Aon Plc’s cyber risk practice told Reuters.
Many of the businesses have been uninsured – reports indicate
that 90% of all cyber policies are in the US - leaving a great opportunity for NZ brokers to help clients protect themselves against a growing threat.
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