CyberNew CyberNew
Threat Intelligence & APT The Record 1 month ago

Coast Guard, FBI boarded tanker after attack by ‘foreign cyber actors’

CN
CyberNew Threat Research Desk
• Original Reporting: The Record
CyberNew Threat Intel Assessment
Assessed Severity: INFORMATIONAL
Impacted Surface
Enterprise Perimeter & Network Defense
Intelligence Sector
Threat Intelligence & APT

Analyst Takeaway

"The U.S. Coast Guard logo on the cutter Decisive in the Gulf of Mexico in 2019. Image: U.S. Coast Guard Coast Guard, FBI boarded tanker after attack by ‘foreign cyber actors’ The U.S. Coast Guard said it boarded a tanker transiting the Gulf of Mexico in August after the vessel’s network was attacked by hackers. A Coast Guard spokesperson confirmed the incident after the Wall Street Journal..."

Recommended Defense & Mitigation

  • Threat Monitoring: Ingest published IOCs into SIEM/EDR detection rules for continuous telemetry monitoring.
  • Security Awareness: Alert staff and maintain baseline endpoint hardening across endpoints.
Curated & Verified by CyberNew Threat Intelligence Desk Standard Defense Framework (NIST / MITRE ATT&CK)
Coast Guard cutter
The U.S. Coast Guard logo on the cutter Decisive in the Gulf of Mexico in 2019. Image: U.S. Coast Guard

Coast Guard, FBI boarded tanker after attack by ‘foreign cyber actors’

The U.S. Coast Guard said it boarded a tanker transiting the Gulf of Mexico in August after the vessel’s network was attacked by hackers. 

A Coast Guard spokesperson confirmed the incident after the Wall Street Journal reported that at least two tankers headed for the U.S. were hit with cyberattacks. Bloomberg News identified one of the tankers as VL Prosperity, and Iranian government-backed news outlet Mehr said the ship lost communications for 30 hours. 

The FBI did not respond to requests for comment and several other agencies directed Recorded Future News to the U.S. Coast Guard, which said officials boarded the ship to “ensure integrity of the vessel’s operational and information technology systems following indications that the vessel’s network were compromised by foreign cyber actors.”

“On August 21, a highly specialized team — comprised of USCG Law Enforcement personnel, USCG Cyber Protection Team members, a vessel inspector, and FBI Cyber Action Team operators — embarked the vessel to conduct a comprehensive cyber security boarding and investigation,” the spokesperson said. 

“Currently, there are no reports of operational disruptions, vessel instability, physical danger to crews, or environmental impacts.”

The U.S. Coast Guard did not respond to questions about the nature of the attack, who was potentially behind it or whether the August 21 boarding involved VL Prosperity. The Wall Street Journal said another ship was boarded on August 24. 

Source Verification & Original Intelligence

This threat report was reviewed by CyberNew analysts and cross-referenced with primary security disclosures from The Record.

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