The launch of IMSCO comes at a time
of growing concern over cyber security in shipping, both as ship-to-shore
connectivity increases sharply and new international regulations come into
force.IMSCO will offer a certification
for security consultants, a professional register, helping shipping
organisations to confidently select experienced personnel, and validate reports
to be held on central database allowing authorities and third party to assess
the risk profile of a vessel.
“Cyber security has
been mandated by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) which requires shipping companies to
implement measures to protect their onboard safety management systems and to
regularly audit them.
However, the change in legislation has given rise to a new maritime cyber
security industry that has proven to be variable in its approach to assessing
systems and interpreting the standards,” explained Campbell Murray, CEO at the
IMCSO.
IMCSO
Maritime Standard cyber certification scheme offers training across four
disciplines.
Cyber professionals who take the
examination can qualify as an Offensive
Security Practitioner or Maritime Cyber Security Specialist in addition to specific
fields including Secure by Design and Cloud Security.
“Ship’s captains often do not have the time to
escort cyber auditors for these assessments, this is compounded by a variety of
assessment methodologies used to provide risk and technical audit results to
port authorities and insurers, leading to needless complexity, overheads and
delays. It’s these issues that the IMCSO aims to address, by equipping the
security industry to conduct these tests in an appropriate, safe and uniform
manner, thus enabling the sector to benchmark compliance,” Murray said.
The setting up of the new
organisation won praise from the Singapore Shipping Association (SSA) which
recently launched an online self-assessment tool for cyber security
threats.“The independent validation of cyber security professionals offered by
the IMCSO will help our members to select cybersecurity testers in a much more
efficient way, ensuring they allow personnel onboard with the requisite
experience. It will make it much easier
to comply with the IMO mandate and will prove an invaluable resource,” said
Caroline Yang, President of SSA.