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Hackers gained temporary access to an oil tanker propulsion system
The incident prompted US authorities to board the VL Prosperity in August as investigators examined how the breach happened near the Texas coast.
FBI and US Coast Guard investigators have found evidence that hackers accessed the propulsion system of an oil supertanker as it approached the Texas coast this summer, according to US officials familiar with the matter cited by Insurance Journal.
The cyberattack gave outsiders temporary access to the ship’s digital system, though investigators are still determining how the breach occurred and who was responsible. It was also not immediately clear how long the hackers had access or what they could have controlled aboard the vessel.
Insurance Journal reports the breach was rare and particularly invasive because it targeted a ship’s operations, highlighting physical risks from cyberattacks. US authorities boarded the VL Prosperity in August while it was fully laden and bound for Galveston, the outlet noted.
The Coast Guard declined to comment and the FBI declined to answer questions beyond a statement the two agencies had previously released.