Japan’s Nagoya Port Suspends Cargo Operations Following Ransomware Attack

The Port of Nagoya, Japan’s largest port in terms of cargo capacity, has suspended loading and unloading following a ransomware attack.

Located in central Japan, the port accounts for 10% of Japan’s total trade value, handling Toyota’s exports and imports, as well as cargo containing foods and household appliances.

On Wednesday morning, the Nagoya Harbor Transportation Authority announced that cargo operations had been suspended after an incident impacted the Nagoya United Terminal System (NUTS), the computer system used to operate the port’s five cargo terminals.

All cargo operations, including the loading and unloading of containers onto trailers, have been suspended as of July 4 and work started on restoring the impacted systems. The attack resulted in a temporary congestion of trailers at the port.

The Nagoya port authority estimates that systems will be back online today and cargo operations will resume by the morning of July 6.

The port authority reportedly received a ransom demand – printed on one of its office printers. The LockBit 3.0 ransomware gang appears to be responsible for the attack.

In addition to deploying file-encrypting ransomware, LockBit 3.0 and other cybergangs typically exfiltrate victim data and use it to extort the victims into paying a ransom. It is unclear whether any data was stolen from the Port of Nagoya’s systems.

SecurityWeek has emailed the Nagoya Harbor Authority for additional information on the incident and will update this article as soon as a reply arrives.

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