The Port of London Authority (PLA) was hit by a cyberattack on May 23rd, which knocked its website offline.
The attack is believed to have been carried out by the Altahrea Team hacking gang, and is politically rather than financially motivated.
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According to Israeli security company Check Point, “an infamous group, suspected to be operated by Iran, or Iraqis that support Iran, has posted on Telegram that it launched a DDoS attack on the Port of London’s website.”
The same company added that this group is known for multiple DDoS attacks on Israeli targets like the Jpost, Israeli 9 channel, the Israeli port authority, and have threatened to attack the Nasdaq before.
Commenting on the attack, Dr Kemedi Moara-Nkwe, Research Fellow, Maritime Cyber Threats Research Group, University of Plymouth, said that “the attack on the Port of Tilbury Authority serves to provide yet more evidence that organised attackers who wish to cause maximal disruption are increasingly looking at maritime ports and vessels as primary targets for their attacks.”
