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January 2022, oil terminals in several European ports were hacked. There are a total of 17 terminals, 11 in Germany and the other six in Belgium and the Netherlands. The hacks caused the terminals to struggle to load and unload the oil.
The cyber attacks pose an increasing threat to the energy infrastructure and are reminiscent of the ransomware attack on the American oil pipeline company Colonial Pipeline. That attack left several pipelines out of service for a while, including a major supply line to the US East Coast.
Some oil storage terminals in Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium faced logistical problems after cyber attacks. The hack targeted the companies IT systems, bringing operational processes to a standstill and forcing people to work manually. Several ships had to wait to load or unload their oil.
The German energy companies Mabanaft and Oiltanking invoked force majeure because they cannot meet contractual agreements for the supply of oil due to ransomware attack. Because it was not possible to supply gas stations, hundreds of gas stations in Northern Germany suffered from this. Some gas stations were unable to adjust prices and accept card payments.
The German domestic intelligence service recently warned that the Chinese hacker group APT27 was targeting German companies with cyber attacks. In December, the large German logistics group Hellmann Worldwide also fell victim to hackers.