The Risk of Cyber-Attack to the Maritime Sector

The majority of cyber-attacks up until 2010 were driven by an attempt to obtain personal or financially sensitive data. Now, companies across all business sectors have begun to experience highly sophisticated and complex cyber-attacks that attempt to inflict damage to property and operations by seeking to take control of industrial control systems.

In Marsh’s new report, we examine the issue of cyber risk in the maritime sector. Vessel navigation and propulsion systems, cargo handling and container tracking systems at ports and on board ships, and shipyard inventories and automated processes, are all controlled using software that is fundamental to smooth running operations. Highly-skilled hackers have demonstrated the ability to penetrate the systems used by the maritime industry, with potentially disastrous consequences.

Events over the last four years suggest that these types of systems are growing increasingly vulnerable to attack.