Dutch maritime logistics company Royal Dirkzwager has confirmed that it was hit with ransomware from the Play group, the latest in a string of attacks targeting the shipping industry.
Company CEO Joan Blaas, who bought the company in October after it went bankrupt the month prior, told The Record the ransomware attack did not have an effect on operations but did involve the theft of data from servers that held a range of contracts and personal information.
“It has had a huge impact on our employees. Over the last year, because of the company’s bankruptcy, we had to let go of people and not everyone could stay. We had to move offices and now this. It's been a very difficult time,” he said.
Founded in 1872, Royal Dirkzwager provides information to more than 800 organizations in the maritime industry and registers more than 200,000 ship movements a year. Its systems allow ports to know when ships will arrive and what nautical services will be available when they make it to a port.
Blaas confirmed that the Dutch Data Protection Authority has been notified of the attack and said he is in negotiations with the cybercriminals.
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