Pro-Russian hackers target Japan's port

A hacker group based in Russia has attacked the Port of Nagoya, Japan’s largest port by total cargo throughput and responsible for handling some of Toyota’s exports and imports, the operator of the port’s computer system said Wednesday.

A hacker group based in Russia has attacked the Port of Nagoya, Japan’s largest port by total cargo throughput and responsible for handling some of Toyota’s exports and imports, the operator of the port’s computer system said Wednesday.

The group, LockBit 3.0, has made a ransom demand in exchange for the system’s recovery, Nagoya Harbor Transportation Association said, while police have launched an investigation.

The port has remained unable to load and unload containers from trailers, its operator, Nagoya Port Authority, said. It added that it intends to resume operations Thursday morning.

The system failure occurred at around 6:30 a.m. Tuesday when an employee was unable to start a computer, according to the port authority.

A message indicating that the computer system had been infected with ransomware was somehow sent to a printer, a source familiar with the case said.

Ransomware is malware that encrypts data and demands payment in exchange for restoring access.