Following the challenges that shipping industry is dealing with due to the COVID-19 outbreak, Hamburg Port Authority (HPA) urges industry to pay attention on cyber security investments.
During the International Association of Ports and Harbors (IAPH) digital meeting, Jens Meier, IAPH Vice President for the European Region and CEO of Hamburg Port Authority (HPA) focused on informing members of current developments and on raising cybersecurity awareness.
In fact, discussions focused on the need of ports to secure their organizations more effectively, in order to avoid cyberattacks and to ensure a better response against them.
If we want to take full advantage of the opportunities offered by digitalization, we must manage the cyber-risks involved and thus ensure digital trust. Protection starts with people. Regardless of the methods of attack – e-mail, cloud applications, web, or social media – attackers are increasingly taking advantage of the human factor. That’s why the approach to cybersecurity should be centered around people.
…as Jens Meier added.
As explained, the cyber threat situation during 2020 is exploded by the pandemic, while remote working is another contributory factor to a business’s vulnerability to cyberattacks.
Covid-19 has accelerated the global digitalization trend and drives further investment in the modernization of port information technology infrastructures in order to remain competitive in the new reality.
…Jens Meier continued.
What is more, during the meeting, Catalina Grimalt, Deputy General Manager of Organization and Internal Resources at the Port of Barcelona, spoke of her own experience with the cyberattack suffered by the Barcelona Port Authority in September 2018.
The most important thing we learned is that the port is not only responsible for its own cybersecurity, but also for the cyber-resilience of the whole supply chain, so we have to build up the resilience of all our ports.
