FBI confirms two Texas-bound oil tankers hit by hackers who disabled coms and put the engines into overdrive — and…
- FBI and US Coast Guard boarded tanker VL Prosperity after foreign cyber compromise indications
- Iranian media claimed attackers sabotaged engine systems and communications; Kohaku vessel also affected
- No group claimed responsibility; US agencies investigating “malicious cyber activity” on targeted ships
Last month, two tankers heading for the United States were hit by a cyberattack, forcing the FBI and Coast Guard to board at least one of the vessels and investigate.
The first vessel is called VL Prosperity, which was allegedly transporting 2.3 million barrels of oil. It is a Liberian crude oil tanker, travelling from Egypt’s Sidi Kerir Oil Terminal towards Galveston, Texas, where it was supposed to dock on August 24. On its route, lasting roughly 25 days, it passed through the Strait of Gibraltar.
Some three days before arriving, it requested assistance from law enforcement, prompting a “highly specialized team” of FBI and Coast Guard cyber experts to...
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