Cyberattacks Compromise Merchant Vessels En Route to US Ports

Personnel from the US Coast Guard and the FBI boarded two merchant vessels bound for US ports in the Gulf of Mexico last month, after indications were detected that a group of hackers had compromised their computer networks, the agencies reported.

The unusual operation, carried out on August 21 and 24 aboard two foreign-flagged ships, comes at a time when US authorities are facing a series of cybersecurity incidents that press reports have linked to Iran since the outbreak of conflict between Washington and Tehran.

The FBI reported that a joint team comprising the Coast Guard and the agency itself boarded the vessels after receiving "indications that the computer networks of both ships were compromised."

The Coast Guard, which only referred to the August 21 boarding, stated that "foreign cyber actors" were involved in the incident, although it did not reveal their identities.

Neither agency offered further details about the incidents nor explained the discrepancies between their versions.

Corey Ranslem, CEO of maritime security firm Dryad Global, confirmed that his company identified one of the vessels as the VL Prosperity, flagged in Liberia. The ship is currently anchored in waters near Galveston, Texas, according to maritime tracking data from LSEG and MarineTraffic.

The Iranian news agency Mehr reported on August 20 that the VL Prosperity had suffered what it called "a major cyberattack" while transiting the Strait of Gibraltar, which resulted in its communications being blocked for 30 hours.

Citing an unidentified crew member, Mehr reported that hackers had also infiltrated the engine room systems, reducing engine cooling flow, increasing its revolutions, and disabling the vessel's fuel and oil tanks.

The Iranian agency did not specify who might be behind the alleged attack. "Although dramatic in effect, a cyberattack focused on a vessel is not that difficult to execute," Ranslem noted.

"We anticipate these types of attacks will continue and expand in the very near future," he stated.