US-headquartered Maritime Transportation System’s Information Sharing and Analysis Center (MTS-ISAC) has formed a global partnership with HudsonAnalytix Inc to provide cyber threat information to the maritime industry
MTS-ISAC will use HudsonCyber, a subsidiary of HudsonAnalytix, to help shipping companies and ports reduce the risk of cyber-security breaches through pre-emptive actions.
It will provide members with cyber threat information from HudsonCyber’s CyberHelm to improve their situational awareness so they can better manage their technical vulnerabilities.
“In adopting CyberHelm, MTS-ISAC members will be able to immediately and cost-effectively access cyber threat information related to their specific operational environment,” said HudsonCyber vice president Max Bobys.
“CyberHelm protects maritime operators from cyber-security threats by proactively avoiding attacks before they occur,” he said.
The maritime industry is increasingly vulnerable to cyber attackers seeking to exploit vulnerabilities in their interconnected systems, as more shipowners and ports adopt digitalisation to optimise operations.
There are thousands of ports around the world receiving more than 50,000 commercial vessels, making over 5M port calls per year.
More of these ships and ports are connected to the internet and online applications, leaving them vulnerable to cyber threats.
“Although many maritime operators are making strides in implementing cyber security, effective and sustained cyber-risk management remains a challenge,” said Mr Bobys.
“In today’s hyper-connected environment, where cyber threats are only constrained by threat actors’ imaginations and successful attacks are measured in seconds, information sharing is critical.”
MTS-ISAC promotes and facilitates maritime cyber-security information sharing, awareness, training, and collaboration efforts between maritime stakeholders.
With limited organisational resources, MTS-ISAC realised the best approach was to work with trusted private and public sector partners, to identify, protect against, and detect cyber threats targeting maritime networks, systems, and people.
“Adding the capability that CyberHelm offers to the services the MTS-ISAC already provides our stakeholders allows the MTS community to more proactively manage cyber risk,” said MTS-ISAC executive director Scott Dickerson.
“As we have seen with the number of reported incidents impacting maritime stakeholders around the world in 2020, threat actors are taking advantage of maritime stakeholders,” he explained.
“Now, our stakeholders can complement the MTS-ISAC’s rapidly shared cyber threat information with a deeper understanding of what infrastructure may have been targeted and is at risk,” Mr Dickerson continued.
MTS-ISAC was formed as a non-profit organisation in February 2020 by a group of US-based maritime critical infrastructure stakeholders to promote cyber-security information sharing throughout the maritime community.
Mr Dickerson explained how ports and ship operators can secure their assets from cyber threats during Riviera Maritime Media’s Where port security meets cyber security webinar. This was held at the beginning of Riviera’s Maritime Cyber Security Webinar Week in August 2020.
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