US authorities are investigating whether foreign cyber adversaries were behind activity targeting ships in US waters, after the Coast Guard, working with the FBI and other federal cyber specialists, boarded a foreign-flagged commercial ship sailing toward the United States on 21 August. A Coast Guard spokesperson said the measures were designed to ensure the integrity of the vessel's operational and information technology systems "following indications that the vessel's networks were compromised by foreign cyber actors", and FBI officials confirmed a second, similar boarding on 24 August. Both vessels were oil tankers in the Gulf of Mexico en route to Texas. Officials reported no indications of operational disruption, vessel instability, danger to crew or environmental impact, and described the ship's captain, crew and shore-side corporate staff as critical partners in mitigating the threat, with the Coast Guard managing communication with port operators, owners and maritime stakeholders to keep port operations running. The boardings sit inside a wider tightening of maritime requirements, including mandatory reporting for the sector, and a specific concern flagged by analysts that foreign vessels may not meet the minimum cybersecurity standards that would prevent or mitigate such an attack.

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