The international shipping industry is responsible for the carriage of around 90% of world trade. With the first waves of digitalisation starting to hit the sector, new and exciting opportunities arise.
The benefits are destined to not only change the way vessels are operated and maintained, but also the way the entire logistics value chain will interact and function. With new technologies pushing the industry forward at a rapid pace, new threats emerge. The omnipresent interconnectivity exposes the sector's infrastructure to more and more cyber vulnerabilities.
Digitalisation is increasingly considered one of the key solutions to the many significant challenges the industry is facing, ranging from overcapacity, low margins, regulatory pressure and lack of efficiency, to new digital demands from customers.
Although digital transformation of the maritime sector is still in its infancy, it is safe to assume that digitalisation will have a major impact on operations and existing business models in the years to come. The benefits from digitalisation have already been manifested by early adopters, and we expect the industry adoption of new digital solutions will accelerate significantly going forward.
But fast-moving changes do not come without risk. We have seen global scale, multi-vector dimension, and usage of leaked state-sponsored tools give attacks a unique sophistication, marking the beginnings of a new generation of cyber attacks. Among other pressing issues are also data breaches, phishing, social engineering and insider threats, hacking and hacktivism, weaponisation of artificial intelligence and, in some cases, simply human error.
The digital solutions and systems designed yesterday did not come with built-in features to mitigate the risks of tomorrow. To be able to make a safe and secure transition to the new connected digital market, organisations need to be able to manage risk. Today's cyber risk posture in the maritime sector, as well as upcoming regulations, demand a strong approach towards identifying those cyber risks that matter most, and addressing them in the most cost-effective way.
