Shipping industry gets new cyber guidelines

The shipping sector has been presented with a new series of guidelines for cyber security. It is the first time that such guidelines have been delivered with the purpose of helping international companies to combat cyber attacks.

Baltic and International Maritime Council (BIMCO) launched the guidelines, with help from other associations in the industry such as Intertanko, Intercargo, ICS, and CLIA. They will help shipping industries to thwart major commercial, environmental, and safety risks that could result in a potential security attack on the ship.

Angus Frew, security general for  BIMCO, said:

“The aim is to provide the shipping industry with clear and comprehensive information on cyber security risks to ships enabling ship-owners to take measures to protect against attacks and to deal with the eventuality of cyber incidents.”

He added that the guidelines should assist businesses in adopting a risk approach to online security that can be adapted specifically to their company, as well as any ships in their operation.

The draft of the guidelines says that an increased internet usage, perhaps used in ensuring that connectivity is sufficient between the ship itself and any services that it offers, makes the systems onboard susceptible to security threats.

The shipping industry is not the only industry that could benefit from new guidelines, however, because cyber threats are affecting numerous businesses in a variety of industries and more action is undoubtedly needed. Firms would help themselves by making information security jobs available to trained cyber personnel in order to maintain safety of systems and data.