Cyberattacks on Two Oil Tankers Prompt Coast Guard, FBI to Board Vessels

The US Coast Guard and FBI boarded two oil tankers bound for the United States after cyberattacks were detected on the vessels. One of the tankers, the VL Prosperity, is a Liberian-flagged crude oil tanker that was headed to Galveston, Texas. According to CBS News, the ship's systems, including propulsion, navigation, and cargo, were accessed by hackers, and communications were knocked out for 30 hours.

The Coast Guard confirmed that there was evidence of malicious cyber activity on the VL Prosperity, but has not attributed the attack to any country. Rear Adm. Amy Grable, commander of US Coast Guard Cyber Command, told CBS News that investigators found malicious cyber activity on the vessel's information technology and other systems. The US is investigating whether the two cyberattacks are connected and whether a foreign adversary was behind the attacks.

The VL Prosperity, a 1,093-foot supertanker, departed Egypt's Sidi Kerir oil terminal on August 1 and slowed near the Strait of Gibraltar. The US officials are looking into the incident, but no further details have been released. The Coast Guard and FBI are working together to investigate the cyberattacks.

Brief written by urgent.news from SecurityWeek, CBS News, Winnipeg Free Press — 3 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.