Clarksons hit by cyber attack

Shipbroker and research consultant Clarksons revealed Wednesday that sensitive data had been potentially compromised by an outside hack and that the attacker may release some of the breached data today.    London-based shipbroker, research and logistical support firm Clarkson PLC revealed on Wednesday that it had been the victim of a cybersecurity attack, potentially resulting in a data leak.
   Clarksons said that the incident was responded to and managed as soon as it was discovered, but initial investigations show that the “unauthorized access was gained via a single and isolated user account which has now been disabled.”
   The attacker is reportedly going to release some data on Wednesday, said Clarksons, but the police are involved and lawyers are on standby to take necessary steps to prevent the spread of confidential information. Clarksons has also been working with data security specialists to investigate further and accelerate the roll-out of additional IT security measures.
   “Issues of cybersecurity are at the forefront of many business agendas in today’s digital and commercial landscape and, despite our extensive efforts we have suffered this criminal attack,” Clarksons CEO Andi Case said in a statement. “As you would rightly expect, we’re working closely with specialist police teams and data security experts to do all we can to best understand the incident and what we can do to protect our clients now and in the future.
   “We hope that, in time, we can share the lessons learned with our clients to help stop them from becoming victims themselves,” he added. “In the meantime, I hope our clients understand that we would not be held to ransom by criminals, and I would like to sincerely apologize for any concern this incident may have understandably raised.” 
   Earlier this year, ocean carrier Maersk Line and FedEx subsidiary TNT Express suffered a cyber attack, which has led to a wider discussion of cyber security measures in place in the industry. A subsequent whitepaper released in October by cyber security consultant CyberKeel found that “virtually all aspects of the maritime industry are vulnerable to cyber attacks.”
   Clarksons said that it has put additional security measures in place to prevent another attack from occurring in the future, but stated that they cannot provide any additional comments on the incident as the investigation is ongoing.