A contributor to the Trade Secret Insider, Andy Lee has co-authored a white paper concerning the findings of a recently conducted Maritime Cybersecurity Survey.
The survey polled 126 senior executives, chief information and 
technology officers, and key managers across the U.S. maritime industry, with four key findings on the state of cybersecurity across various industry sectors.
The U.S. maritime industry is being targeted. Nearly 80% of large U.S. maritime industry companies (more than 400 employees), and 38% of all industry respondents reported that cyber attackers targeted their companies within the past year. 10% of survey respondents reported that the data breach was successful, while 28% reported a thwarted attempt.
There is a false sense of preparedness in the U.S. maritime industry. 69% of respondents expressed confidence in the maritime industry’s overall cybersecurity readiness, yet 64% indicated that their own companies are unprepared to handle the far-reaching business, financial, regulatory, and public relations consequences of a data breach.
Small and mid-size companies are far less prepared than larger companies to respond to a cybersecurity breach. 100% of respondents from large organizations indicated they are prepared to prevent a data breach, while only 6% of small company (1 to 49 employees) respondents and 19% of mid-size company (50 to 400 employees) respondents indicated preparedness.
Small and mid-size companies lack even the most fundamental protections, exposing them to huge potential losses. 92% of small company and 69% of mid-size company respondents confirmed they have no cyber insurance. In contrast, 97% of large company respondents have cyber insurance coverage.
The white paper also outlines best practices for well-prepared companies and offers guidance on how maritime companies can evaluate and improve cyber readiness.
