Maritime cyber security still underestimated
In a recent report, maritime consultant Cyber Owl and law firm HFW found that where cyberattacks in the maritime industry result in the payment of a ransom, shipowners pay more than USD 3 million on average to the perpetrators. The research is based on a survey of more than 200 industry professionals and was conducted by the maritime agency Thetius.
Further findings suggest that most shipowners give no major attention to the subject. More than half of the companies spend less than USD 100,000 per year on security measures and two-thirds of industry professionals don't know whether their insurance covers cyber attacks.
Tom Walters, partner of HFW, commented: "As we look to the future and the adoption of alternative propulsion systems and autonomous ships, cyber security will only become more important.” (sh)