Group n0n, in a widespread cyber attack, has threatened 38 maritime organizations, including shipping lines and ports, with the disclosure of their sensitive data. On October 12, 2023, the group published the names of these 38 organizations and gave them one week to pay millions of dollars in ransom to prevent the disclosure of information.
List of Affected Organizations
This list includes major shipping companies such as Ocean Network Express (ONE) in Singapore, CULines, and T.S. Lines, as well as companies from South Korea, Japan, and Indonesia. Additionally, ports and terminals from South Korea to India, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Brazil, and Vietnam have also been affected. This threat also includes entities related to shipping operations, including the Chinese crane manufacturer ZPMC.
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Scope of the Attack and Reactions
According to reports, group n0n, which emerged in September 2023, is potentially based in Russia and had previously attacked 21 organizations from various industries, including investment, telecommunications, and pharmaceuticals. However, none of the companies affected by this attack have publicly confirmed it yet. SOCRadar has noted that these companies have until October 19 to prevent the release of their data by paying the ransom in Bitcoin. The ransom amount requested varies between $2.4 million to $14 million, depending on the volume of data available.
SOCRadar's analyses indicate that this data disclosure is likely due to a shared system, and group n0n manipulates victims' data using management tools instead of traditional ransomware methods. This attack has particularly focused on companies operating in Asia.
This cyber attack is part of a larger wave of cyber attacks that have targeted the shipping industry in recent years. Although several shipping lines have previously reported ransomware attacks on their systems, this attack is unprecedented due to its scale and impact.
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