Port operations restored at Transnet after cyber attack

28 July 2021 - 22:01 By nomahlubi sonjica
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The public enterprises department says Transnet has restored port operations following a cyber attack disruption at its key container terminals.
The public enterprises department says Transnet has restored port operations following a cyber attack disruption at its key container terminals.
Image: 123RF/draganche

The public enterprises department announced on Wednesday that Transnet had restored port operations after a cyber attack disruption at its key container terminals.

“Transnet has managed to fully restore operations at the ports, which enables the country’s supply chain and logistics system to resume normal operations,” the public enterprises department said in a statement. It said the resumption of operations at Transnet was good news as it was the backbone of the country’s economy.

“The main system responsible for the container operations, the Navis N4 terminal operating system, has been fully restored and customers are now able to access the customer links to facilitate imports and exports.

“The remaining systems will continue to be brought up in a staggered manner to minimise further risks and interruptions,” the department said.

It said the Durban container terminals were fully functional on Navis with a few other interface systems progressing well.

“In the Eastern Cape, the container operations working with some of the IT functionalities are still being restored and the vessels are working in parallel with the manual processes.”

The Western Cape has been fully restored, while some of the IT functions were still being restored.

According to the department, a preliminary assessment of the cyber attack indicates that Transnet and its customer data has not been compromised.

“Cyber attacks have been on the increase in the country and globally. Investigations are under way into the events and due process will take place.

“Government commends the leadership of the affected companies for their patience while Transnet worked to restore full operations.”

The department said Transnet was strengthening weaknesses identified in its IT environment.

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