Port terminal OT compromise

The threat

The terminal operating system and gantry-crane network are disrupted. Container moves stop, vessels wait offshore, and as an essential entity under NIS2 the terminal faces both a safety problem and a reporting clock.

Key injects

• 01The terminal operating system fails; yard moves halt.
• 02A crane control network shows unexplained commands.
• 03Vessels queue offshore; the harbour master asks for a plan.
• 04The NIS2 competent authority requests an initial report.

What's assessed

• NIS2 essential-entity reporting timing
• Physical-safety decisions around crane operations
• Vessel and yard prioritisation under disruption
• Coordination with port authority and customs

Exercise objectives

• Put a safety perimeter around crane and yard operations before any technical debate starts.
• Draft an accurate NIS2 early warning (24 hours, essential entity) under time pressure.
• Coordinate harbour master, port authority, customs and shipping lines with one message discipline.
• Prioritise vessels and yard moves on defensible criteria instead of first-come-first-served.

Roles at the table

• ●Crisis team lead · Holds one picture across terminal, authorities and shipping lines; owns the log and the queue criteria.
• ●IT / OT security · Scopes TOS and crane-network compromise; decides what evidence a restart would destroy.
• ●Terminal operations lead · Yard, gates and cranes by hand where possible; translates downtime into moves lost per hour.
• ●Communications · Shipping lines, forwarders, press, and the queue of trucks outside the gate.
• ●Legal / regulatory · NIS2 essential-entity duties, charter-party exposure, customs formalities in fallback mode.
• ●Terminal management (executive) · Approves stop-work and restart, faces port authority and owners.

Discussion prompts

• 01Unexplained commands in the crane network: do you stop every lift now, knowing each idle hour cascades through the supply chain?
• 02The harbour master wants a berthing plan; your TOS is down. What do you commit to, in writing?
• 03The early warning is due within 24 hours and OT forensics is still guessing. What do you tell the authority?
• 04Which vessel goes first when everything is late: the reefer cargo, the feeder with forty connections, or the line that pays most?
• 05Manual gate operations put a mile of trucks on the road. When do police and the city get called, and by whom?
• 06Reefer monitoring runs over the same network. Do you trust its temperature data tonight?

Suggested timeline

• 00:00–00:25TOS failure and crane anomalies: stop-work decision, safety perimeter
• 00:25–01:10Situation picture: OT scoping, vessel queue forms, gate fallback
• 01:10–01:55Authorities: berthing plan, NIS2 early warning drafted (24 h)
• 01:55–02:35Prioritised restart: crane and yard sequencing, partner updates
• 02:35–03:00Hot wash: safety decisions, reporting chain, backlog plan