Transnet

History

2021: Failure due to cyber attack

In mid-July 2021, information appeared about an incident that was associated with a cyber attack on Transnet, as a result of which container operations in the South African port of Cape Town were disrupted. Durban, the busiest shipping terminal in sub-Saharan Africa, also suffered.

The Cape Town Port Carriers Association reported in an email to members of the association:

Please note that the port's operating systems have been cyber-attacked and the movement of cargo will not be carried out until the system is fully restored.

Hackers attacked a large Transnet logistics company

The official Transnet website did not work on July 22, 2021, issuing an error message. The company, which operates major ports in South Africa, including Durban and Cape Town, as well as a huge rail network carrying minerals and other goods for export, has officially confirmed that its IT infrastructure is experiencing failures and it is determining their cause. The company declined to comment on whether the cyber attack was the cause of the failure, but sources who asked not to be named because they were not authorized to speak to the press said the attack occurred early in the morning of July 22, 2021.

In early July 2021, the state-owned company already faced serious disruption to its ports and the national freight railway line after several days of unrest and violence in some parts of the country.

In response to a question about whether the cyber attack on Transnet is related to riots, a government spokesman said the following:

We are conducting an investigation, and when this is confirmed or denied, we will make a statement. We are currently treating this as a non-riot event.

The last failure delayed containers with car parts, but the commodities were not damaged because they were located in another part of the port.

Transnet said that the operation of its container terminals was disrupted, but also clarified that other transportation routes that the company is engaged in were not affected: freight rail, pipelines.

Most of the copper and cobalt mined in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Zambia, where mining companies such as Glencore and Barrick Gold operate, use Durban to ship goods from Africa.^[1]

Notes