Now's the time to discuss maritime's cyber risks

CYBERATTACKS targeting the marine sector, and critical infrastructure more broadly, are growing rapidly in Asia and across the world. As the maritime industry undergoes rapid digitalisation, ransomware attacks continue to escalate. In fact, hackers are narrowing their focus on organisations in the sector, which are seen as tempting targets due to a perceived lack of cybersecurity investment and hence potential for significant operational disruption.

The marine industry's cyber vulnerability is not new. Since Maersk suffered a devastating US$300 million ransomware attack in 2017, the maritime industry has earned the unfortunate distinction of being the only sector to have had all four of the world's largest shipping companies being hit by cyberattacks in the last four years; the Big Boys are, namely Maersk, Mediterranean Shipping Company, CMA CGM and COSCO.

With Singapore being the world's busiest transhipment hub and a key node in the global supply chain, it is imperative that the maritime sector here be well prepared against the threat of cyberattacks that are increasingly more sophisticated.