- Germany into Nations League quarters, France and Italy win
- Nagelsmann lauds 'supercharged' Germany's 'best half of the year'
- 'Pandas are coming': Two new bears depart China for US capital
- Dodgers pitcher Kershaw plans to return for 2025
- Mbappe 'investigated for rape' in Sweden: report
- Revived Italy sweep past Israel in Nations League amid high security
- Trudeau slams India as tensions soar over Sikh separatist's murder
- Harris courts Black voters as Trump makes inroads
- Wall Street stocks hit fresh records as oil prices slide
- Nigerian team return home after boycotting AFCON qualifier in Libya
- Nigeria refuse to play in Libya as Algeria, Cameroon qualify
- Strike-hit Boeing leaves experts puzzled by strategy
- Leweling rockets Germany past Dutch and into Nations League quarterfinals
- Kolo Muani double fires France to win in Belgium
- Italy sweep past Israel in Nations League amid high security
- UN peacekeepers to 'stay in all positions' in Lebanon
- NASA launches probe to study if life possible on icy Jupiter moon
- 'Unique' Ronaldo an example to everyone, says Martinez
- New lawsuits against Sean Combs allege sex assault, including of minor
- Italy begins migrant transfers to Albania with first group of 16
- Google signs nuclear power deal with startup Kairos
- Carsley open to foreign England manager amid Guardiola links
- Pogba hungry to have his football cake after doping ban
- India and Canada expel top envoys in Sikh separatist killing row
- Mbappe says victim of 'fake news' after 'rape' report in Sweden
- Lebanon says 21 killed in strike on northern village
- Netanyahu vows no mercy after deadly Hezbollah drone strike
- Russia could be able to attack NATO by 2030: German intelligence
- EVs seek to regain sales momentum at Paris Motor Show
- Clarke backs Scotland to bounce back from 'tough' run
- Harris, Trump target crucial Pennsylvania as US vote looms
- NASA probe Europa Clipper lifts off for Jupiter's icy moon
- Lebanese Red Cross says 18 killed in strike in north
- Mendy borrowed money from Man City team-mates for legal fees
- Palestinian officials say Israeli forces kill two in West Bank
- Football leagues, unions file EU complaint against FIFA in calendar dispute
- Nigeria boycott AFCON qualifier in Libya after 'inhumane treatment'
- India to recall top envoy to Canada: foreign ministry
- Hezbollah, Israeli troops in 'violent clashes' after drone strike
- China insists won't renounce 'use of force' to take Taiwan as drills end
- Painkiller sale plan to US gives France major headache
- Italy begins landmark migrant transfers to Albania
- Russia jails French researcher for three years
- 'Unsustainable' housing crisis bedevils Spain's socialist govt
- Stocks shrug off China disappointment but oil slides
- New Zealand 4-0 up in America's Cup but British show signs of life
- Russian prosecutor demands 3 years prison for French researcher
- 'Innocent' British nerve agent victim caught in global murder plot: inquiry
- Afghan Taliban vow to implement media ban on images of living things
- Russian prosecutor demands 3 years, 3 months jail for French researcher
The growing cyber threat to global shipping
The cyberattack that paralysed several major Australian ports was a sharp reminder of what governments and experts say is a growing threat to shipping, the lifeblood of the global economy.
The attack on DP World's ports -- which handle 40 percent of Australia's freight trade -- forced them offline for days and was the latest in a series of breaches at ports around the world in recent years.
- Who has been targeted? -
Cyberattacks have disrupted or halted operations at some of the world's busiest ports in recent years.
A ransomware attack in July at Japan's busiest port, Nagoya, disrupted operations for days.
Oil terminals last year at some of western Europe's largest ports could not process vessels because of a cyberattack.
And in 2017, the "NotPetya" malware spread into systems around the world, crippling the operations of global shipping giant Maersk.
There have also been cyberattacks at major ports in the Netherlands, Canada, India, South Africa and the United States.
Nearly 75 percent of US shipping executives say their companies had faced cyberattacks, according to a 2022 survey by the law firm Jones Walker.
- Why are governments worried? -
Shipping is crucial to the global economy, moving more than 80 percent of trade in goods, according to the UN's trade body UNCTAD.
And the entire infrastructure contains what experts have described as single points of failure -- where one cyberattack at a port can cause a logistical nightmare across the supply chain.
"If you were looking for a target, that would be the target," Rob Nicholls, an associate professor at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, told AFP.
"This is why under Australian law and increasingly around the world, ports are regarded as critical infrastructure because they are... a single point of failure in the supply chain."
The US Cyberspace Solarium Commission warned in a report this year: "A cyberattack against a complex maritime ecosystem could be devastating to the stability of the global economy."
- Is shipping more vulnerable now? -
Automation and connectivity in global maritime operations have increased rapidly in recent years, linking everything from cargo-handling machines at ports to traffic control in waterways to sensors on ships.
While that has boosted efficiency, security firms and government bodies have warned that there are now more points for cyberattackers to target.
An intrusion at a port manager's office, for example, could allow a hacker to insert malicious code that can in turn paralyse the entire facility.
"Ports are target-rich environments" for cyberattackers, the US research firm Mitre said in a report this year.
And the paralysis at one port could cascade around the world, said UNSW's Nicholls, offering the example of the 2021 traffic jam caused when the Suez Canal was blocked by a giant container ship.
There was "an almost universal expectation" of cyberattacks on the shipping industry, according to an industry survey published this year by DNV, a global maritime classification and risk management firm.
"Cybersecurity is a growing safety risk," said DNV's Knut Orbeck-Nilssen, "perhaps even 'the' risk for the coming decade."
L.Durand--AMWN