Global Security, Privacy, & Risk Management

CyberSecurity & Piracy December 17, 2011

This past summer I was interviewed by Maritime Executive on the topic of CyberPiracy.  The article discussed the need for increased information assurance practices among shipping companies.  As shipping companies increasingly turn to armed guards and ships increasingly adopt BMP4, hijackings have decreased.  In response the pirates, and those who fund and support the pirates, are looking for new ways to increase their likelihood of successfully hijacking a ship while minimizing the risk to the pirates.  Increasingly, pirates are turning to high tech, and not so high tech, solutions.  It is an established fact that pirates are using information found on the AIS system as well as GPS and satellite phones to locate and coordinate attacks.  Now information is coming forward that the pirates groups are using sources within ports, and shipping companies to identify those vessels that they want to attack.  It has been reported that hackers are being employed to steal data related to cargo as well as the user of armed guards.  While this topic is too broad to discuss in a blog post, I will begin posting a series of articles on cyber security and steps shipping companies can take to minimize the risk of their data being compromised.

This past Fall, I had the opportunity to speak at Hanson Wade anti-piracy event in London.  If you have not attended a Hanson Wade event, they are very worthwhile.  I have spoken at literally scores of events over the past 10 years and few, if any, were as well organized.  The next event is scheduled for April, 2012 in Hamburg Germany.  As luck would have it they have a section on CyberSecurity.  Take a look and see if it is worth attending..