Oil Tanker Hacked by Foreign Cyber Actors While Transiting Strait of Gibraltar
A US-bound oil tanker carrying nearly 2.3 million barrels of oil has been hit by hackers, forcing the Coast Guard and FBI to board the ship and investigate.
The VL Prosperity, a Liberian crude oil tanker, was traveling from Egypt's Sidi Kerir Oil Terminal to Galveston, Texas, when it suffered a major cyber breach. The incident occurred while the vessel was transiting through the Strait of Gibraltar, a key shipping route that has seen increased traffic since the Iran War.
The Coast Guard and FBI responded quickly to the threat, deploying a highly specialized team to investigate and secure the ship's systems. According to the Coast Guard, there were 'indications that the vessel's network was compromised by foreign cyber actors.'
No crew danger, environmental harm, or operational disruption has been reported as a result of the breach.