Lesson learned: U.S. Container Depot, Liquid Cargo tighten IT security

Kevin Jackson was vacationing on the other side of the country when Liquid Cargo was hit with a ransomware attack in 2017.

The moment he realized he isn’t immune is seared into his memory.

It was close to midnight Friday, Feb. 17, to be exact, and the start of a holiday weekend before President’s Day the following Monday, meaning the now anxiety-filled Liquid Cargo and U.S. Container Depot president had little hope of resolving the situation quickly—or of fully enjoying his stay in California.

The entire ordeal disrupted Jackson’s West Palm Beach, Fla.-based bulk transportation and logistics operations for nearly two weeks, and cost him five bitcoins—at the time a nominal ransom, especially by today’s standards—to unlock the encrypted data, restore their systems, and…