A cyberattack disrupted information technology systems operated by North Carolina Ports, delaying gate operations at the Port of Wilmington, the Port of Morehead City and the Charlotte Inland Port.
The authority detected the attack on Tuesday, 4 August. It advised that gates at all three facilities would open at 8 a.m. on Wednesday, 5 August, and warned truckers to expect delays.
North Carolina Ports told local media that an outside actor or group had breached its IT system. The authority’s technology team activated its Cybersecurity Contingency Plan after identifying the incident.
By Wednesday morning, the breach had been contained and recovery work was under way. It remained unclear whether sensitive data had been compromised.
The authority also engaged the North Carolina Department of Transportation, the North Carolina Department of Information Technology and the U.S. Coast Guard in its response.
The affected facilities comprise North Carolina’s two deepwater ports and its inland port in Charlotte. During the previous year, the ports of Wilmington and Morehead City handled a combined 4.4 million short tons of bulk and breakbulk cargo.
The authority handles bulk materials serving North Carolina, including agricultural products, forestry products and building materials.
The Port of Wilmington typically records more than 5,000 container gate moves each week. It has annual capacity of 600,000 TEU and handles a significant volume of refrigerated cargo supporting the agricultural industry.
The disruption followed a series of U.S. Coast Guard bulletins addressing cyberattack risks at U.S. ports. The Coast Guard has also increased port testing and planning requirements and raised concerns about Chinese-manufactured cargo cranes.
The incident occurred days after the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Environmental Protection Agency warned that malicious cyber actors were targeting infrastructure, including water and wastewater systems.
The FBI said water and wastewater utilities in at least seven states had reported incidents, with some activity disrupting water operations. Separate news reports said attacks against water utilities had spread to at least 12 states.
