After a cyber attack recently hit Norsk Hydro, the threat of hacking has once again been imminent for maritime companies, warns Nor-Shipping. Namely, Per Martin Tanggaard, Director of Nor-Shipping, stated that this attack is a showcase of the increasing risk that maritime and ocean companies face.
Specifically, Norsk Hydro computer systems were hit by the comparatively new LockerGoga virus at first, before spreading to its network encrypting files. Due to the attack, the company had to pause production in several plants, switching to increased manual operations to bypass problems connecting to its production systems. LockerGoga demanded payment for the decryption of infected files.
This is yet another wake up call for industry, and particularly for the maritime segment. Shipping has been comparatively slow to join the digital revolution, but now that it has developments are moving fast, with ever increasing automation, connected operations and the move towards autonomy. It is absolutely essential that firms don’t just see the opportunities inherent here, but also the threats
Per Martin Tanggaard, Director of Nor-Shipping, mentioned.
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In addition, Mr. Tanggaard also noted that the last two years have seen a rising number of cyber attacks on big maritime players, such as Maersk, COSCO and Austal, as well as ports such as San Diego and Barcelona. He believes that this situations is only the beginning of the development curve. For this reason, shipping and ocean industry firms must have strategies in place to counter risk.
Cyber security should be top of the agenda for all businesses, big and small. If a company with Norsk Hydro’s resources, expertise and systems is susceptible to attack, then everybody is. Be aware
In order to help the industry address the risk, Nor-Shipping has invited Admiral Michael Rogers, who served under both Presidents Obama and Trump as former director of the National Security Agency (NSA), to talk about cyber security on its Ocean Leadership Conference as a keynote speaker on 4 June.
