Maritime Security: How Cyber Aware Are You?

1. Maritime Security: How Cyber Aware Are You? Marine vessels and offshore platforms are becoming more sophisticated and high-tech with mobile internet services. The cyber threat at sea poses significant security risks to ship operations and vessel owners. Therefore, increasing maritime security is essential to manage and mitigate any cyber threats that have the potential to compromise vessel security. How cyber aware are you? More than 90% of world trade is conducted by sea and the reliance of global marine trade on digital technology is continuously increasing. With increasing reliance on connectivity and IT technology, there has been a rise in maritime cyber threats to shipping companies, ports and on shore and offshore operations. According to a recent survey, 67% of security officers within shipping companies felt cyber attack was not a serious threat to international shipping companies. In fact, 91% of ship security officers did not have the knowledge or training to manage the cyber threats to the vessel. Types of Cyber Attacks in the Maritime Industry  Changing a vessel's direction by interfering with its GPS signal  Hijacking a ship and asking for ransom to release the ship and cargoes  Causing a floating oil platform to shut down temporarily  Using port’s computer system to locate specific container containing illegal things

2. Increase Cyber Security Awareness Cyber threats can lead to physical injury to crew, loss of cargo, reputation damage and business interruption. Therefore, shipping companies must increase cyber security on their vessels. Cyber security is the collection of policies, security safeguards, risk management approaches, crew training, best practices, and secured broadband connection that can be used to protect the environment of vessels, marine facilities the maritime transportation system. The best way to lower the risks of cyber attacks is to increase cyber awareness.  Train People – crew, ship operators, and managers: Provide training and communicate the risks at all levels of your organization to make sure everybody knows how to mitigate cyber risks. Align Security Processes and Policies: Align cyber risks with existing IT technologies and your fleet broadband system. Use firewalls, antivirus and encryption to ensure adequate protection at all levels of the company.  Maritime cyber security is an organization-wide issue, and not just an IT problem. The cyber risk management should be seen as complimentary to IT security processes and shipping companies, crew and operators need to be aware of cyber security plans.