CMA CGM Still Recovering from Cyberattack, IMO is Back Online

A week after it was first hit by a cyberattack, shipping giant CMA CGM Group is still working to restore full operations to its systems. After initially believing that the attack had been limited in scope and that it had been able to prevent the spread of malware on its systems, the shipping line later reported that more details on the attack saying that there had also likely been a data breach.

As of today, CMA CGM continues to have an alert posted on its website saying, “We have decided to temporarily suspend all access to our eCommerce websites to protect our customers.” They are however assuring everyone that all communications to and from the CMA CGM Group are secure, including emails, transmitted files, and electronic data interchange.

With the disruption to online services now lasting a week, this becomes one of the more impactful attacks experienced in the shipping industry. CMA CGM joins the ranks of other large shipping companies including Maersk and Cosco who have also reported cyberattacks.

The outage of its ebooking systems has been especially frustrating for customers who have been forced to seek out other booking options or had to revert to the pre-technology days working with the local agents to obtain bookings. CMA CGM, however, says that its teams are working hard to assist customers and appreciates their understanding during this time. Other areas of the business, including marine and port activities, are reported to be fully operational.

During the struggle to restore its systems, CMA CGM Group also announced the appointment of a new executive vice president for IT, digital, and transformation. Nicolas Sekkaki, chairman of IBM France since 2015, has joined the CMA CGM Group to lead the company’s ongoing digital transformation. Padmaraja Dipankar, currently Vice President of Intelligent Operations & Innovation at Accenture, is also joining CMA CGM as group chief digital officer as they work to accelerate their ongoing digitization efforts across the organization.

Two days after CMA CGM announced that it was suffering a cyberattack, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) also reported that it had been attacked.  IMO’s web-based services, including its public website and other web-based services, went offline on September 30. The organization however reported that it continued to function and was able to use its service to still conduct virtual sessions.

“Most systems are now running,” said an IMO spokesperson today. The IMO website and public presence have been restored and are operational on October 5.