Laura Shaughnessy is the former managing editor at Dockwalk.
The International Maritime Security Associates has a new shipboard cybersecurity vulnerability assessment tool.
Let’s be real, more of your life is online than you’d care to admit, which is why it’s critically important to protect it. That’s what International Maritime Security Associates Inc. (IMSA) wants to do with their new shipboard cybersecurity vulnerability assessment tool, which launched in January 2021.
“Our new cybersecurity vulnerability assessment tool can be used to conduct a cybersecurity vulnerability assessment on a vessel anywhere in the world without sending someone on board,” says Corey D. Ranslem, CEO of IMSA. “Typically, to conduct a vulnerability assessment of devices on a specific network, you would need to send someone to the vessel. This is a big deal for the industry because of all of the COVID restrictions, it is very difficult to get our cybersecurity people to the vessels. Now we can send the device and provide the same level of service,” he says, adding that this is the only device out there that can remotely provide a cybersecurity vulnerability assessment of devices on a network. “This product was designed specifically for vessels and the maritime industry.”
Unlike most things associated with COVID, there’s one good thing that’s come from having to social distance. “The ability to conduct a remote assessment for a vessel without sending someone on board reduces the cost for vessels by about 60 percent. It also reduces personnel traffic on board and can be done almost anytime and anywhere as long as the vessel has connectivity,” Ranslem points out.
“This is a big deal for the industry because of all of the COVID restrictions, it is very difficult to get our cybersecurity people to the vessels. Now we can send the device and provide the same level of service,” says Corey D. Ranslem.
In addition to IMO 2021 cybersecurity regulation compliance (which went into effect on January 1 for vessels worldwide), this new assessment tool is very effective in helping any vessels make sure their shipboard networks are secure.
“This device, along with our other services, provides a complete cybersecurity package to vessels. Through our [award-winning] ARMS critical information software platform, we can monitor a vessel’s networks in real-time for cybersecurity threats. We look at this device as the first and an important step for assessing and managing a vessel’s cybersecurity health.”
Since launching in January, they’ve had a lot of interest from various potential clients. “We have also seen interest from flag states and government regulatory organizations,” says Ranslem.
This column is taken from the March 2021 issue of Dockwalk.