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Coast Guard Calls for Ships to ­pdate Their Systems After Malware Attack


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The Coast Guard recommends other vessels take steps to bolster their cybersecurity.

The U.S. Coast Guard is recommending that ships update their cybersecurity following a malware attack on a deep draft vessel that significantly degraded its computer system.

Credit: Getty

The U.S. Coast Guard is recommending ships update their cybersecurity, following a February malware attack on a vessel that "significantly degraded" its computer system.

The hack impacted the functionality of the ship's computer system, which was employed for managing cargo data and communicating with the Coast Guard and shore-side facilities.

Said the Coast Guard, "The vessel was operating without effective cybersecurity measures in place, exposing critical vessel control systems to significant vulnerabilities."

The agency added that computer control of engines, electronic charting, and navigation makes cybersecurity as vital to protecting vessel operations "as controlling physical access to the ship or performing routine maintenance on traditional machinery."

The Coast Guard urged vessels to segment their networks to complicate malefactors' access, establish network logins for every worker onboard, patch vulnerabilities, and install antivirus software.

From The Hill
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Abstracts Copyright © 2019 SmithBucklin, Washington, DC, USA


 

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