GLOBAL transport insurance provider, TT Club, has warned of the increasing dangers posed by "cyber-criminals" targeting carriers, ports, terminals and other transport operators at the TOC Europe conference held in London.
As cyber-technology becomes more widely available, a greater risk to legitimate trade is emerging, exposing operators in the supply chain to economic and commercial damage.
Advances in IT systems undoubtedly provide greater opportunities for carriers, transport operators and cargo handling facilities to mitigate their exposure to theft and fraud, unfortunately such increased sophistication also benefits those with criminal intent.
As a leading provider of insurance and risk management services to the freight transport industry, TT Club is well-placed to observe and analyse both the nature and effect of such cyber-crime.
Insurance claims expert Mike Yarwood said that cyber-crime was growing fast. "The damage appears minimal - nothing is physically removed," he said, investigations reveal the culprits were installing spyware.
More common targets are individuals' personal devices where cyber security is less adequate. Hackers often make use of social networks to target operational personnel who travel extensively and truck drivers to ascertain routing and overnight parking patterns.
The type of information being sought and extracted may release codes for containers from terminal facilities or passwords to discover delivery instructions.
Criminals are known to have targeted containers using systematic tracking coupled with compromising the terminal's IT systems to gain access to, or generate release codes for specific containers.
This has been the case with illegal drugs, but such methods also have greater scope in facilitating high value cargo thefts and human trafficking, said Mr Yarwood in a statement.
Simply identifying the value of the data held by an organisation or individual is a starting point when assessing potential exposure to cyber crime. "Awareness is often the first step," said Mr Yarwood.
"Education of employees across all disciplines of the organisation is crucial. Making them aware of robust risk management policies designed to defend the organisation from cyber-crime. Often the level of threat is dependent on an organisations' own culture," he added.
WORLD SHIPPING
29 June 2014 - 20:48
TT Club presents cyber-crime risks at London supply chain conference
GLOBAL transport insurance provider, TT Club, has warned of the increasing dangers posed by "cyber-criminals" targeting carriers, ports, terminals and other transport operators at the TOC Europe conference held in London.
WORLD SHIPPING
29 June 2014 - 20:48
TT Club presents cyber-crime risks at London supply chain conference
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