Maersk Cyber Attack

Maersk Line, the world’s largest container shipping company that has found in 1904. The company operates all over the world and has a fleet of 639 ships which sail every major trade lane on the globe and employing around 90,000 people (Maersk Investor Relation, 2016).

In June 2017 The APM terminal, which is held by shipping group Maersk, has been facing a ransomware attack named Petya across its global IT network. Petya is a form of malware that infects a targeted computer, encrypts some of the data on it, and gives the victim a message explaining how they can pay a ransom to get the keys to get their data back. Petya malware spreads through malicious office attachments and email (Urrico, 2017). Petya overwrite the affected system’s master boot record after it installs its own boot loader and encrypts the master file.

The malicious cyber-attack has distressed Maersk from carrying out its regular business operations. In a usual day, APM terminal handles almost 5,000 containers. However, the company was forced to adapt to being locked out of its computer networks around the world. From USA, to India, the firm switched to manual tracking of its loading and unloading of cargo. Moreover, in New Zealand and Australia, Maersk staff used handwritten records and Excel spreadsheets to register shipments (Chambers, 2017).

According to a statement issued by the company, Petya related costs contributed to a $264 million loss for the two mid quarters of 2017 (Interim Report Q2, 2017). "We had to reinstall an entire infrastructure" (World Economic Forum, 2018), said the CEO of Maersk Line at World after installing 4,000 new servers, 45,000 new PCs and 2,500 applications to recover from the cyber-attack.

In fact, it is very significant that business managers should develop a security policy with assigned committee for it with regular, scheduled meetings to develop and vote on any changes or additions to the policy (Martin et al, 1998).  Business managers should also collaborate with every department at the organization and insure that everyone is maintaining their security tools and technology.

Reference:

Chambers, S. (2017). Back to the future for Maersk in the wake of Petya attack. Retrieved February 6, 2019, from https://splash247.com/back-future-maersk-wake-petya-attack/

Interim Report Q2 2017. (2017). Retrieved February 6, 2019, from http://investor.maersk.com/static-files/7eee21c8-e825-46d2-bc62-dcd155d00e88

Maersk Investor Relation. (2016). Maersk Group strategy and performance. Retrieved February 6, 2019, from http://investor.maersk.com/static-files/f5fb74fc-ee2a-470f-b0d0-3c2dbf4bd422

Martin, E. W., Brown, C. V., Hoffer, J. A., Perkins, W. C., & DeHayes, D. W. (1998). Managing information technology: What managers need to know. Prentice Hall PTR.

Petya attack: JNPT offers alternatives to maersk terminal. (2017, Jun 29). Businessline Retrieved from https://search-proquest-com.sdl.idm.oclc.org/docview/1914687658?accountid=142908

Urrico, R. (2017). Under attack again, petya the latest assault. Credit Union Times.Breaking News, Retrieved from https://search-proquest-com.sdl.idm.oclc.org/docview/1914737082?accountid=142908

World Economic Forum [Video file]. (2018). Securing a Common Future in Cyberspace. Retrieved February 6, 2019, from https://www.weforum.org/events/world-economic-forum-annual-meeting-2018/sessions/securing-a-common-future-in-cyberspace.