Maritime research firm Thetius, maritime cyber risk management specialist CyberOwl and law firm Holman Fenwick Willan have released a report called ‘The Great Disconnect’. In it, they claim it is possible for hackers to penetrate a ship’s navigation system and create havoc as the vessel passes major chokepoints.
The report stated, “Whether through spoofing GPS, or hijacking a ship’s control system, the ability of a nation state to manipulate the movement of maritime vessels can cause billions of dollars of disruption, shock the global supply chain, increase the cost of goods, and even instigate international conflict.”
Although the grounding of the Ever Given in the Suez Canal was not caused by a cyberattack, it stands as an example of the fallout of such an event. The disaster is estimated to have cost the global economy between US$6 billion and US$10 billion per day.
The authors of the report said: “Whether through spoofing GPS, or hijacking a ship’s control system, the ability of a nation state to manipulate the movement of maritime vessels can cause billions of dollars of disruption, shock the global supply chain, increase the cost of goods, and even instigate international conflict. Fortunately, direct attacks by nation-states are rare; the industry is far more likely to suffer an attack from an unintentional insider.”
Source: container-news.com