USCG Cyber Command

As our world becomes more complex and technologically advanced we will have more hazards develop--it is an unfortunate consequence of our becoming a more interconnected community of people and organizations.

 

I didn't realize it, but the Coast Guard has established a Cyber Command.  More the size (18 and growing) of an Army platoon than a "command."  Their basic missions are covered in a Coast Guard blog post.  The mission with the greates nexus to port security is:

• Coordinate with partners to protect the Marine Transportation System (MTS) and Maritime Critical Infrastructure & Key Resources (MCI&KR) from cyber threats.

I have to say that this is hard to do with them being in D.C. and no one representing them in the maritime sectors.  I guess their plan is to work with the Facility Inspection group in the maritime sectors to begin looking at cyber security.

 

To date, cyber security may have seemed to be a remote mission given the limited adoption of technological innovation in the maritime industry, but I see change coming on the horizon as more and more technological advances are adopted into the industry. 

 

One last note, if you are in the maritime security business you may have received an email from the Coast Guard informing you to reset your password for Homeport.  That is because it was hacked a couple of weeks ago.  As they say, "Cyber security starts at home."