Cyber-security will come under the remit of the International Safety Management (ISM) Code from 1st January 2021 and measures must be incorporated into your vessels’ Safety Management Systems – good preparation is vital!
You cannot control when a cyber-attack happens or the damage it will cause to vessel operation. However, you can control what happens next by developing a contingency plan that prioritises response actions and making sure crew and shore-based staff understand the plan.
Procedures are especially important if navigation equipment or OT systems for controlling propulsion, auxiliary systems and other critical systems are compromised as these could affect vessel safety.
To shut down shore connections quickly, the onboard network should be designed in such a way that individual parts can be physically segregated by removing a single network cable or powering off the firewall.
Have a policy for reporting cyber incidents and be prepared to disconnect OT systems to prevent malware spreading between network segments.
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