Cyberattack cripples North Carolina ports: trucks delayed, vessels run on schedule

The North Carolina Ports Authority has confirmed that a cyberattack disrupted IT systems and slowed operations at the Port of Wilmington, Port of Morehead City, and Charlotte Inland Port. All three facilities are part of the state's port infrastructure, comprising two major deepwater commercial seaports and an inland hub.

The most significant of the three, the Port of Wilmington, has nine berths and an annual container capacity of 600,000 TEU, handling an average of 5,000 container gate moves per week. Together, Wilmington and Morehead City process 4.4 million short tons of bulk and breakbulk cargo annually, serving as vital regional logistics centers.

The attack was detected on August 4, prompting the authority to activate its cybersecurity contingency plan, with recovery efforts beginning on the morning of August 5. The incident caused a system-wide outage, forcing gates at all three facilities to open at 8 a.m. on August 5 and delaying port operations and truckers.

The authority did not attribute the attack to any known threat actor and did not specify whether sensitive data had been compromised. A notice on the port authority's website indicates operations are gradually returning to normal, but delays should still be expected as work to restore affected systems and services continues.

"Gates at the Port of Wilmington, the Port of Morehead City, and the Charlotte Inland Port will follow a normal operating schedule tomorrow, August 7," reads the latest status update. "Vessel activity will also proceed as scheduled. As our IT team continues assessing affected systems and restoring services, delays can be expected. We appreciate your patience."

As of publication, no threat groups have publicly claimed responsibility for the attack. The outlet reached out to the North Carolina Ports Authority for further details but had not received a response at the time of writing.