Shipping industry vulnerable to cyber attacks and GPS jamming
Experts say ships are in danger when GPS systems are affected, especially in low visibility
The shipping industry is increasingly at risk from cybersecurity attacks and a gap in insurance policies is leaving them vulnerable, industry experts have told CNBC.
Cybersecurity has come into focus across the economy, as hackers become more capable. Meanwhile, ships are more reliant on a range of electronic devices to operate.
“This includes software to run the engines, complex cargo management systems, automatic identification systems (AIS), global positioning systems (GPS) and electronic chart displays and information systems (ECDIS),” explained Matthew Montgomery, senior associate at international law firm Holman Fenwick Willan, told CNBC via email.
“The added incentive for a hacker is that the shipping industry involves high value assets and the movement of valuable cargo on a daily basis.”
Jamming or disrupting GPS systems creates significant problems. For example, in April last year, South Korea said that around 280 vessels had to return to port after experiencing problems with their navigation systems, and claimed North Korea was behind the disruption.
Professor David Last, strategic advisor to the U.K.’s General Lighthouse Authorities which provides navigation aids for ships, recently ran a series of trials to examine the effect of GPS jamming on shipping. In one trial, a jammer was operated from a lighthouse and aimed at ships.
