For some years now, the maritime sector has experienced breaches of various computer and information technology (IT) systems. Primarily, these breaches have been collateral damage. The maritime sector has almost never been the intended target. That does not mean that the damage has been minor. In June 2017, A.P. Moller-Maersk suffered a major cyber-attack. The malware had been designed by Russian hackers to disrupt the Ukrainian power sector. Once released, though, it proved to be indiscriminate, infecting IT systems worldwide that had not been kept up to date. In the case of A.P. Moller-Maersk, its container ships and associated ports were most impacted, halting operations for a while and causing economic damages of up to $300 million. The company had to scrub 40,000 devices to fully remove the malware. The Ports of Barcelona and San Diego and the American division of COSCO Shipping Lines have also been impacted by untargeted cyber-attacks.
Targeted threats
Recently, hackers have commenced actions specifically targeting the maritime sector.
Most targeted hacking is accomplished via spear-phishing. The hackers modify legitimate emails using…
