Lockbit Claims Ransomware Attack on Portuguese Port – Informatics – News

The criminals behind the Lockbit ransomware have claimed responsibility for an attack on the port of Lisbon. The Portuguese port was attacked on Christmas day, even though the work would not stop.

The Administração do Porto de Lisboa, one of Portugal’s largest ports, was hit by “a cyber incident” on Christmas Day, but the organization initially provided few details. In a statement to the Portuguese newspaper Publico the port authority said that the attack had no impact on day-to-day operations in the port. However, various services such as the website are malfunctioning.

It was initially unclear what exactly happened, although it was obvious that a ransomware infection had occurred on the port systems. This is now confirmed by the criminals behind Lockbit, a notorious ransomware gang. According to Computer that plays Lockbit claimed responsibility for the attack. On the Lockbit website, criminals threaten to publish the stolen data if the port authority doesn’t pay. The deadline expires on January 18.

According to the criminals, much information was stolen both from the employees and from the port itself. This would include customer data, although it is unknown which ones. Additionally, financial reports and other sensitive company data were stolen, along with emails and shipping documents. Criminals want $1.5 million to destroy data, but criminals also sell data to anyone willing to pay that amount.

It is not known whether the port authority intends to pay. According to a spokesman, the port had protocols ready for just such a situation so that commercial operations would not be compromised.