Cyber Crime Wave Over

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The Port of L.A.’s largest terminal was expected to return to normal operations late last week.

The local terminal was one of the last operated by shipping giant A.P. Moller-Maersk to get back on track after a cyberattack hobbled its computer systems worldwide.

The company’s shipping division, Maersk Line, shut down its operations early June 27 at APM Terminals at Pier 400, where Maersk’s SoCal operations are based, said port spokesman Phillip Sanfield. The terminal still wasn’t operating as of June 29, according to Maersk and the port.

Maersk is the primary carrier at the terminal, the port’s biggest by cargo volume, and the largest shipping company in the world.

The shutdown didn’t significantly affect port operations or cause cargo backups because no vessels were scheduled to use the terminal for a couple of days after the cyberattack, according to Sanfield. The situation was a first at the Port of Los Angeles, he said.

“We’ve seen terminals cease operations for maybe technical issues and computer issues, but not for what apparently is a cyberattack,” he said.

The Copenhagen, Denmark-based cargo carrier said on its website that operations were back to normal or partially restored at most of its more than 60 terminals worldwide by June 29.

Maersk also said it was able to begin booking cargo shipments again, but that it was still working to get its APM Terminals fully operational.

“We are pleased to report that our operations are now running close to normal again,” the company said on its website.

The cybersecurity issue occurred just as the port, Maersk and GE Transportation Co. were near completing a six-week pilot program to create a centralized database and streamline shipping information distribution.

“There is no reason to believe Maersk’s network impact is any way related to the pilot program being conducted by the Port of Los Angeles and GE, nor did the impact originate with the Portal pilot program,” Sanfield said. “One of the reasons GE was selected was because of their expertise in handling data in a secure manner.”

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