Emerging technologies could play a trick on ship-owners and operators according to Marsh Vice President, Stephen Harris.
The global leader in insurance broking and risk management says in an article on Marsh website that pirates could potentially use technology like drones and IoT to hack a shipping company’s system.
Data recorded by IMB /International Maritime Bureau) Piracy Report Center indicates that 184 incidents of “traditional piracy” were reported in 2016, but cyber-attacks remain as a major concern within the industry, as these could become more successful in the future.
Harris explains that pirates could enter into a shipping company’s system and target, track and board specific cargo ships.
“Cyber-attacks in the marine industry may not have been as highly publicised as those that have taken place in other sectors. However, the marine industry has long been contemplating what would happen if pirates were to use such technology to their advantage, and the potential impact such attacks could have on their operations, customers, and reputation,” said Harris in the article.
Internet of things is an increasingly popular tool among ship-owners to increase operational efficiency, but in the hands of pirates, this technology could be used to access vital data about goods, locations, security of the ship. Harris wonders if crews are trained to avoid any information leakage case.
Drones are also a potentially dangerous technology, as pirates could use them for surveillance, carry out attacks and weapon delivery.
Harris embraces marine industry to take the right measures to protect itself from these risks and paying more attention to the security of interconnected systems to avoid critical information to be accessible to pirates.
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