It has been announced recently that the Round Table (RT) of international shipping associations, comprising BIMCO, ICS, Intercargo and INTERTANKO are developing standards and guidelines to address the major cyber security issues faced by the shipping industry.
Protection against malicious attacks on computer based systems onboard ships is now hitting the top of the agenda for shipping organisations in all corners of the world. The Round Table has made a submission to the IMO on this vital issue outlining the steps taken by the industry to address any vulnerabilities.
To address this problem and help the industry to protect itself against these risks, the RT is already working with industry partners on a number of complementary projects to develop standards and guidelines to address the cyber security issues, including strategies to minimise the risk of a cyber-attack through user access management and contingency plans.
The RT (through BIMCO) and CIRM (Comité International Radio-Maritime) are also in the final phase of developing a standard for the maintenance and update of programmable electronic systems.
Angus Frew, Secretary General of BIMCO, said: “The Round Table representing the global shipping industry is taking cyber security seriously.
“The standards under development are intended to enable equipment manufacturers, service personnel, yards, owners and operators, as well as crew, to ensure their shipboard computer-based systems are managed securely – and kept up-to-date to protect against the ever-growing threat from exploitation by criminals.”
