ADF STAFF
Cybercriminals targeted a shipping company or maritime entity once every three days in late 2023. That figure is rising and requires extra vigilance by African security professionals, experts say.
Among those sounding the alarm are the leaders of the Regional Maritime Information Fusion Center in Antananarivo, Madagascar, which relays alerts of maritime threats around the East and Southern Africa and Indian Ocean (ESA-IO) region.
“Cybercrime is an emerging threat to maritime security that is beginning to gain the upper hand, and in the ESA-IO region it is creeping up on us,” said Lt. Saïd Lavani, Comoran international liaison officer at the center.
Maritime operational technology and fleet operations management are almost entirely digital, meaning cyberattacks can compromise a wide range of systems, including vessel communications, management of cargo and ballast water, and engine monitoring and control. The average cost of such attacks rose 200% worldwide in 18 months to more than $550,000 per incident.
Navigation and long-range communication systems also are at risk. As shipping companies increasingly use advanced satellite communications such as low Earth orbit networks to improve connectivity, they also expose backdoor vulnerabilities to online criminals, according to a report by law firm Holman Fenwick Willan and maritime cybersecurity company CyberOwl.
Some of the continent’s coastal and island territories are stepping up to fight cyber threats. The Indian Ocean Cybersecurity Observatory on Réunion Island launched an awareness campaign in late October 2023. The observatory aims to create a community in the fields of data protection and raise awareness of maritime cybersecurity issues.