Ransomware Attack on Royal Dirkzwager: A Bruteforce Breach

By Netvora Tech News

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Maritime services provider Royal Dirkzwager, based in Maassluis, was hit by a ransomware attack two years ago via a bruteforce breach. The company has confirmed this in a statement to regional broadcaster Rijnmond. With a history dating back to 1872, Royal Dirkzwager has been registering in- and outgoing seafarers in the Rotterdam harbor, as well as remotely monitoring a quarter of the oil platforms in the Dutch part of the North Sea. The attack disrupted various services, including the system that provides real-time updates on ship arrivals and the ROAM-service for monitoring vessel traffic. According to Nicolas Maes, a representative from Dirkzwager, all servers were encrypted, except for an old system from 1984 that was offline at the time. "It was not difficult for the attackers to gain access," Maes said. "Our security was not up to par at the time. We had recently transitioned from a secure local environment to the cloud and had neglected cybersecurity. For example, there was no limit on the number of login attempts, allowing them to force their way into the server by entering an infinite number of passwords." Maes advises companies to implement multifactor authentication and restrict external connections to specific locations to prevent unauthorized access. "If you set this up correctly, it becomes very difficult for criminals to gain access," he emphasized. As a result of the attack, Dirkzwager has invested more in its security measures, including 24/7 monitoring. "I'm willing to stake my reputation that this won't happen to us again," Maes concluded. "We've invested more in security than the ransom demanded, and it was worth it."