InView Autumn/Winter 2015

12 InView | An independent eye on insurance
HOW TO STAY AFLOAT IN
THE FACE OF CYBER ATTACKS
Stringent digital security systems surround our airports and banks, but ports and
vessels are highly vulnerable to cyber attack. Phil James examines this pressing issue.
The marine industry is open to cyber attack due to a number
of reasons which include the development of its digital
security systems failing to keep pace with the technology
being used in other areas of the transport sector. Further,
and more worryingly, marine organisations are lagging
behind the increasingly sophisticated systems being used
by organised criminals and terrorists. This therefore raises
the disturbing question of not ‘if’ our ports and vessels will
fall victim to cyber attack, but ‘when’?
There are numerous ways in which digital marine
infrastructure can be penetrated. Bills of lading, manifests
and transit orders can be falsified, resulting in serious
financial consequences – not to mention the movement
of cargoes such as drugs, weapons, human traffic and
even ‘dirty bombs’.
Fraudulent data can be inserted into systems to create the
illusion of legitimacy to criminal and terrorist activities
carried out by certain criminal organisations. Automatic
Identification System (AIS) data is based on radio
transmission, which is also relayed via the internet and is
susceptible to interference. Another weakness in marine
security arises out of electronic payment for bunkers.
Like any digital financial transaction, it is susceptible to
interference by cyber criminals. Unlike some digital financial
transactions, the sums involved are always significant.
The Port of Antwerp hacking incident in 2013 is a recent high
profile example of a cyber breach. Drug smugglers planted
an extraordinary array of disguised remote access devices
on the Belgian port’s logistics systems as part of a major
hacking attack.
The attack is thought to have taken place over a two year
period from June 2011. The organised crime group used
hackers based in Belgium to infiltrate computer networks in
at least two companies operating in the Port. The systems
that controlled the movement and location of containers
were breached. This allowed:
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the hackers to access secure data containing location and
security details of containers, which in turn allowed
the traffickers to hide cocaine and heroin among
legitimate cargoes including timber and bananas shipped
in containers from South America.
It was then easy for the traffickers to steal the relevant
containers before the legitimate owner arrived.
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