Cyber crime : a new maritime security threat?

Abstract

This thesis identifies the maritime industry as being pivotal to global trade as well as to the economies of States, thereby necessitating proper security. The evolution of traditional maritime security threats such as piracy and maritime terrorism shall be examined as well as the way in which the international community sought to repress these crimes. There has been heavy reliance on navigational systems in the maritime realm due to their efficiency and this has not gone unnoticed by criminals who easily exploit the vulnerabilities in these systems for their own gain. This new threat had been previously unforeseen but led to a distinction between computer crime and traditional crime facilitated by the use of technology; whereby traditional criminals like pirates are engaging the services of hackers to gain intelligence on the vessel they are to attack or to even gain complete control over it. In recent years there have been numerous cyber attacks on these systems leading to economic and business interruption and losses as well as reputational damage to shipping companies. Other potential damage could be collisions, damage to property, injury to persons and even, loss of life. Unfortunately, while there exists a body of laws regulating the traditional threats to maritime security and cyber crime separately, there is currently no international legal framework to address cyber crimes which affect the shipping industry. The ‘Guidelines on Cyber Security Onboard Ships’ published by BIMCO earlier this year, indicate that cyber crime is a growing threat against the shipping industry and that there is a need for more vigilance and cyber security regulation in the maritime realm.