Safe at sea

Since the beginning of the data driven era, there have been attempts to gain access to restricted data. In the early decades of information technology, the attempts were mostly done by technology enthusiasts just to see what was possible. As time progressed this has developed into an industry where data is equated to money.

Data is held hostage

The attacks have become more and more sophisticated in a cat and mouse race between cyber security companies and cyber criminals. In the last years there has been a huge increase in malicious code that encrypts data and the only way for the rightful owners to regain access to the data is by paying for the decryption key.

Essential with cyber security awareness

There is no such thing as 100% secure data and all companies around the globe are struggling to keep their data as secure as possible given the resources at hand. One of the most valuable assets in this ongoing battle is the awareness of the people who have access to the data. The shipping industry is no exception to this (especially with the advent of permanent internet connections) and I predict that we will soon see cyber security awareness training as a mandatory part of building a career.

 Stay safe in the digital wilderness

There are a few things that you can do to prevent putting your company’s data at risk:

• Be suspicious. One of the keys to minimize risk is for everyone to be suspicious. Suspicious about email, suspicious about web links and suspicious about people.
• Have routines in place. If you suspect a break-in, make sure that you alert the right people. Acting to reduce the impact has been a key part of IT operations for a long time and these routines need to be extended to encompass all employees.
• Security comes from constant monitoring. And it needs to go beyond the firewall.

Pattern recognition

First class virus software, advanced machine learning, and day-to-day engineering creates solutions that recognize possible threats and stop them before you even know about them. This is achieved with the help of pattern recognition. Cyber threats are as real on the seas as they are ashore, and the best way to stop any attempts at reaching your business data is for us to listen, learn and constantly adapt.