Safety at Sea and BIMCO publish cyber security white paper
Safety at Sea and BIMCO have published a white paper containing advice based on results and findings from Cyber Security Surveys produced over the last four years, as well as on feedback and knowledge from experts at roundtable events, BIMCO says in a press release.
Safety at Sea, its parent company IHS Markit and its partner BIMCO, have been conducting surveys for years and the white paper, supported by ABS Advanced Solutions, combines an analysis of four years (2016-2019) of survey findings and feedback from experts and matches them to cyber behaviour and investment trends observable in the wider maritime industry.
Gathering knowledge of cyber security is an important tool and will benefit the entire industry.
“BIMCO takes cyber security very seriously and we are continually working on raising awareness among shipowners about cyber risks and how to prepare for cyber incidents” says Aron Sørensen, head of Maritime Technology & Regulation at BIMCO.
In the four years that Safety at Sea has partnered with BIMCO to run the Maritime Cyber Security Survey, a notable shift in industry attitudes to a greater understanding of the threats it faces has been detected, largely boosted by the 2017 Maersk cyber incident. Conversations have evolved from “awareness” to “preparedness” and this year’s survey showed that companies are working to protect their IT systems, operational technology systems and against vulnerabilities introduced by third parties.
However, the size and scope of the cyber security threat within the maritime sector are still largely unknown, due in part to shipowners’ reluctance to share their experiences for fear of reputational damage.
From the white paper, readers will gain a comprehensive overview of the key cyber security issues facing maritime, touching upon past major incidents and industry-best practice, as well as practical advice on prevention and recovery. The paper also focuses on risk assessment, training and cultural change, insurance and operational technology.
This year, BIMCO, CLIA, ICS, INTERCARGO, InterManager, INTERTANKO, IUMI, OCIMF and WSC published version 3.0 of The Guidelines on Cyber Security onboard Ships, which offers guidance to shipowners and operators on how to assess their operations and develop the necessary procedures and actions to improve resilience and maintain integrity of systems onboard their ships.