News / Maersk suffers a cyber attack causing IT systems to fail

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Maersk is undergoing a cyber attack which has led to the shipping line asking customers to contact it by phone. Some 17 of its terminals, operated by subsidiary APM Terminals, are also affected.

“We can confirm that Maersk IT systems are down across multiple sites and business units due to a cyber attack,” it said on its website. “We continue to assess the situation. The safety of our employees, our operations and customer’s business is our top priority. We will update when we have more information.”

Ukraine’s government, its National Bank and large power companies have also been affected, as has Russian oil company Rosneft, and Kiev Airport.

The airport noted: “Our IT services are working together to resolve the situation. There may be delays in flights due to the situation… The official site of the airport and the flight schedules are not working.”

According to media reports, companies are receiving a ransomware note in English, demanding $300 in Bitcoin, similar to the recent WannaCry ransom.

Maersk Line UK informed customers via Twitter in the morning that: “Unfortunately our computer systems here in the U.K. & Ireland are down. Our phone systems are live and we’re on hand to answer any Q’s.” It only admitted to a cyber attack several hours later. Subsidiary Damco’s website appeared to be working normally, however.