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Maritime Ransomware Attack

Hmm, when do you disclose a hack?

You can get the "general details' from this article on a maritime ransomware attack

If it is a publicly traded company, I would think that they would have to disclose the attack — at some point. 

What is not said is how they were able to restore operations within 30 hours. Did they pay the ransom? It would be my guess that they did, just based on those organizations who have not capitulated to ransomers' requests and worked for weeks and even months to rebuild their systems. 

It is another message to the mariner community that they are not immune from digital attacks. It has been two years, but don't forget Cyberattack cost Maersk as much as $300 million and disrupted operations for 2 weeks.

One other item to note. Paper maritime charts are not being produced anymore. It is all digital! If it is digital, it can be hacked. My concern is that we become so dependent on the technology that we can't function without it. For the Army and infantry, the junior leaders there may not be proficient in land navigation without the GPS tools that they have become dependent upon. 

 

Eric Holdeman is a contributing writer for Emergency Management magazine and is the former director of the King County, Wash., Office of Emergency Management.