One in Five Shipping Companies Hit by Cyberattacks in Last 12 Months

A new report - The Lifecycle Dilemma: Navigating Cybersecurity Risks Across Designing, Constructing, and Operating a Vessel - has revealed a slew of alarming statistics regarding shipping companies and cyberattacks. 

Chief amongst these statistics is the fact that one in five shipping companies faced a cyberattack over the last 12 months. 

The report, which was carried out by research firm Thetius, surveyed a total of 150 stakeholders, including shipowners, charterers, OEMs, seafarers, insurers, shipyards, and cybersecurity experts. 

The findings paint a stark picture of the current and anticipated challenges facing the maritime industry over the coming years. Key findings from the report include: 

• 7% of those surveyed paid a ransom within the last 12 months. This is a drop from 2023, when 14% of survey participants admitted to paying a ransom.
   
• The cost of ransom payouts is on a clear decline trajectory. The average ransom is now less than $100k, a significant drop from the average payout of $3.2m in 2023.
   
• Only 17% of surveyed shipyards feel they have adequate in-house cybersecurity expertise to design and construct cyber-secure vessels.
   
• 10% of OEMs incorporate security-by-design into their new systems.
   
• 32% of shipowners include cybersecurity in their newbuild teams. 

In the report's foreword, Guy Platten, the secretary general of the International Chamber of Shipping, said: 

“Designing a cyber-secure vessel is no longer a choice but a necessity. Cybersecurity cannot be an afterthought. Instead, it must be integrated from the outset, ensuring that vessels are secure-by-design rather than relying on costly and complex retrofits later.

This requires a shift in mindset from all stakeholders, particularly shipowners, shipyards, OEMs, and regulators who must collaborate to build cyber resilience into every layer of a vessel’s architecture”.

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Since 1904, Brookes Bell has been supporting the maritime industry with a range of respected consultancy services.

We’ve supported P&I clubs, shipowners, charterers, underwriters, H&M insurers, law firms, and government bodies to solve their maritime-based issues. And we can help you, too. 

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