Confirming Malware Attack, MSC Says Network Outage is Now Resolved

MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) confirmed Wednesday that its network outage has now been resolved and its website and customer booking platform are back up and running after a malware attack.

As of today, both MSC.com and myMSC.com are accessible. 

The network outage was first reported last Friday with the company saying at the time it could not rule out a malware cyber attack as the cause.

The company said the outage was isolated to company’s headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, and all departments, terminals, and depots continued to operate without disruptions. The company said it continued to take bookings via bookings via phone or email, which were not impacted. 

In a FAQ published Wednesday, MSC confirmed that the outage was the result of a malware attack impacting a limited number of computers systems.

“After a thorough investigation, we confirmed that it was confined to a limited number of physical computer systems in Geneva only and we determined that it was a malware attack based on an engineered targeted vulnerability,” the FAQ said.

Currently, all cargo booking options are available. 

“The incident was confined to MSC’s headquarters in Geneva only and affected the availability of some of MSC’s digital tools and msc.com for a few days during the Easter holiday long weekend. MSC agencies remained fully functional and continued serving customers as usual during this time,” today’s update said. 

Swiss-based Mediterranean Shipping Company is the second largest container shipping line, controlling 571 ships representing 16% share of the world’s TEU capacity. It also participates in the 2M Alliance with Maersk, the world’s leading container line.

Word of a possible cyber attack couldn’t help but recall memories of the 2017 NotPetya malware attack that crippled Maersk’s global networks and disrupted its container shipping operations for weeks, costing Maersk some $300 million. 

“While MSC considers this incident to be resolved, we remain focused and cautious in our approach to information technology and committed to minimising the risk of systems outages,” MSC said Wednesday. “We thank all our customers for their patience and support while we worked hard to make all systems available again as soon as this was possible.”