What Do You Do in case of Cyber Attack to a Ship?

You’re on the bridge, with the ship’s course shown on the digital display. But why is the ship continuing to turn west? Everything looks normal on the computer screens in the dark wheelhouse — but outside, the land is dangerously close. What’s going on?

Down in the engine room, workers report via radio that everything is normal, but they wonder why the bridge has changed course. The engines are revving and the ship is picking up speed. The engine room hasn’t done this. What now? It’s because of hacker took control of your ship.?

Cybersecurity is a hot topic for the entire maritime industry, as well as in academia. Digital IT events can have consequences for ship operations. They can affect administrative systems for ship manifests, passenger lists, digital certificates and sailing licenses and the like. This can delay or impede operations.

Companies that are exposed to these problems can experience significant financial consequences and damage to their reputation.

Now, responding to the question the answer is here. If hackers take control of your ship, it is a serious and potentially dangerous situation. Here are some steps that you can take to respond to such an incident:

1. Notify authorities: Notify relevant authorities such as the Coast Guard, the port authorities, and the ship's owner or management company immediately. They can assist you in responding to the attack.

2. Isolate the affected system: Disconnect the affected system from the ship's network to prevent the hacker from accessing other systems.

3. Identify the source of the attack: Try to identify the source of the attack to understand how it occurred and how to prevent it from happening again in the future.

4. Assess the damage: Assess the extent of the damage caused by the hacker. Determine what systems have been compromised and what data may have been stolen.

5. Develop a response plan: Develop a response plan that includes actions to take to contain and mitigate the damage caused by the attack.

6. Inform crew: Inform the crew of the situation and provide them with guidance on how to respond to the attack.

It is important to note that responding to a cyber attack requires specialized expertise. You may need to seek the assistance of cybersecurity experts to help you contain the attack and prevent further damage.