New Maritime Cybersecurity Body Launched
As digital technologies continue to permeate the international shipping industry, a newly launched organization aims to raise the standard of cybersecurity risk assessment across the maritime sector.
The International Maritime Cyber Security Organization (IMCSO) will recognize appropriate cybersecurity professional certifications as well as offer certification for maritime specific knowledge. In addition, the body will maintain a register of maritime cyber security service suppliers, detailing the qualifications and expertise of those working for them. The IMCSO also catalogues risk reports and makes the results available to selected parties to profile vessels as well as using the dataset to chart cyber trends.
“Cybersecurity has been mandated by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) which requires shipping companies to implement measures to protect their onboard safety management systems and to regularly audit them. However, the change in legislation has given rise to a new maritime cyber security industry that has proven to be variable in its approach to assessing systems and interpreting the standards,” said Campbell Murray, CEO at the IMCSO.
“Ship’s captains often do not have the time to escort cyber auditors for these assessments, this is compounded by a variety of assessment methodologies used to provide risk and technical audit results to port authorities and insurers, leading to needless complexity, overheads and delays. It’s these issues that the IMCSO aims to address, by equipping the security industry to conduct these tests in an appropriate, safe and uniform manner, thus enabling the sector to benchmark compliance,” Murray said.
“The IMCSO promises to simplify the risk assessment process and to give third parties the information they need to accurately determine risk. This will result in more accurate cyber insurance policies, for instance, and the ability to use the report data to track cyber trends may help the sector to become more resilient. We look forward to utilizing the IMCSO database to help our clients,” said Captain of Private Yacht, Kaela Bermeister.
“The independent validation of cybersecurity professionals offered by the IMCSO will help our members to select cybersecurity testers in a much more efficient way, ensuring they allow personnel onboard with the requisite experience. It will make it much easier to comply with the IMO mandate and will prove an invaluable resource,” said Caroline Yang, President, Singapore Shipping Association (SSA), a trade association representing the interests of over 500 Singapore-based companies.
