Cybercrime poses global threat to ports

As cyber space becomes
the new zone for crime and
conflict, a word of warning has
been sounded on the global
vulnerability of ports.
Cybercrime attacks could
potentially interrupt vessel and
cargo movement or even shut
down networked computer
systems for days, said Brett
van Niekerk, University of
KwaZulu-Natal honorary
research fellow and maritime
sector information security
analyst.
Speaking at the recent
African Ports Evolution
conference in Durban,
he said simply upgrading
cyber security technology
was not enough. “Senior
executives need to take
responsibility and
create employee
awareness of
the dangers of
cybercrime,” he said.
“Ports are generally
insufficiently protected in
cyber space and the main
contributor is probably
the awareness and
understanding of what
can happen if there is a
breach of the corporate
and operational network.
There can be a significant
operational and financial
impact if the worst case
scenario does happen,” Van
Niekerk said.
As ports and freight
forwarders moved to
automation to improve
efficiencies making business
increasingly IT dependent,
vulnerability to cybercrimes
had increased, he said.
Examples of security breaches
include a hacker’s accidental
shutdown of Houston Port in
the US for a few weeks and
smugglers hacking into the
Australian customs system to
check if their cargo was under
suspicion – in which case it
would be abandoned.
Van Niekerk said US
Brookings Institute
and European Network
Information Agency reports
into port security showed a
low awareness of maritime
cyber risks with insufficient
consideration in regulations
in the EU. Despite huge sums
spent on national security
and ports, many of which
didn’t conduct vulnerability
assessments, very little was
being channelled into cyber
security in the US, he added.
“The US and EU are
generally leaders in cyber
security,” he said,” and this is
what is coming out – that the
ports are vulnerable.
Cyber criminals could
target operations by either
shutting down networked
systems, or gaining control
of conveyors and other
automated equipment in
smart ports that could lead
to containers being dropped,
personnel injuries, slower
production, ships being
overloaded and even to
spillages and environmental
damages. Research had also
shown that vessels were
potentially vulnerable to
pirates who could track their
voyages online and hack into
their GPS systems to stage a
hijacking, he added.
“Maritime regulations
haven’t really considered
cyber security as a major
issue. It is now starting to
come up as some of the
major shipping lines
are forming alliances
in order to address
this but not in a
holistic approach,”
he said