Last month maritime trend news
February 02, 2023 - March 08, 2023
Maritime Cybersecurity News   by DSLABcompany
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  Cyberattacks on software update servers used on ships are expected to affect ships and shipping companies, like the case in which 17,000 companies using the software suffered a series of hacking damage due to the exposure of the update server of SolarWinds, a software manufacturer for systems management in 2020, DSLAB says. The cyber risk of remotely managed ships will increase because it features remote access methods of the Ballast Water Management System (BWMS) and computer-based system (CBS) account information. Old versions of remote access software for remote access have unauthorised remote user access and remote code execution vulnerabilities which could potentially be exploited as a cyberattack surface. Targets for cyberattacks can be found through internal data of the victim company, and can also be carried out by exploiting the information leaked on the dark web.
Weekly News
  The nonprofit Maritime Transportation System Information Sharing and Analysis Center (MTS-ISAC) released its 2022 Annual Report. The MTS-ISAC, whose stakeholders’ operations span 6 continents and over 160 countries, focuses on maritime cyber threat information sharing to help provide early warning of the cyber-attacks taking place against the maritime community. The report highlights the incredible progress its community of stakeholders made to improve cyber risk management across the maritime transportation system (MTS) community, including key milestones and results achieved during its third year of operations. Serving as the maritime sector’s information exchange center of excellence, 2022 proved to be both a diverse and fast-paced year for cyber threat activity as threat actors interested in geopolitical events, financial gain, information theft, and espionage regularly targeted the MTS. Timely, actionable, and relevant threat data proved to be a difference maker for the MTS-ISAC’s stakeholders.
   This Advisory seeks to alert maritime stakeholders of potential vulnerabilities to maritime port equipment, networks, operating systems, software, and infrastructure. Maritime ports, facilities, and infrastructure, worldwide, are vulnerable to physical and cybersecurity exposure through foreign adversarial (defined in the Office of the Director of National Intelligence’s (ODNI) 2022 Annual Threat Assessment – and linked in references) access to port equipment and supply chain information management systems. Specifically, proprietary foreign adversarial companies manufacture, install, and maintain port equipment that pose potential vulnerabilities to global maritime infrastructure information technology (IT) and operational technology (OT) systems. In the last few years, the U.S. Government has published several documents (see paragraph 4 below) illuminating the risks associated with integrating and utilizing LOGINK, NucTech scanners, and foreign port cranes.
  India has a huge coastline of 7516.6km comprising 13 major ports (including one private port) and more than 200 minor ports across the coastline. It is a very known fact that the maritime sector is very crucial for India’s security, stability, economy, and sustainable development. India conducts around 70 percent of its total trade by value through the sea. India is strategically placed in the Indian Ocean, which gives it greater access to trade with the world’s major shipping routes. India’s seaborne trade has grown at a rate that is twice the 3.3% rate experienced globally. India is now focusing on strengthening its maritime sector through the upgradation of safety and security standards at the ports, enhancing port capacity and operations, and automation. It is placing emphasis on automation and technology upgradation through projects like SAGAR and Sagarmala. With digitalization in place in almost all the port operations and in the surveillance of the maritime waters, as shown in figure 1, the maritime domain is vulnerable to cyber threats ashore and afloat.
  A previously unknown hacking group is using espionage tools to target Pakistan's Navy, according to new research.  Dmitry Bestuzhev, a threat Researcher at BlackBerry, told The Record that the group – which they named “NewsPenguin” – is a targeted attack group focused on militaries and the defense industry.  The group used the upcoming Pakistan International Maritime Expo & Conference (PIMEC-2023) as a lure to trick victims into opening phishing emails containing malware.wed to run on a device – by attaching itself to legitimate components.
  A dynamic positioning (DP) system is an automated and computerized system which directs and monitors a vessel’s position using various onboard sensors and drives the vessel forward using propellors and thrusters. The system is often used in research ships and drilling vessels, as well as vessels used for installation and maintenance of offshore assets. DP systems enable crew to maintain position for various types of operations without being anchored. Because of their computerized and connected nature, DP systems are at risk of cybersecurity attacks.
  The Threat Cluster is Almost Certainly Targeting the Maritime Industry. A single threat cluster is conducting a campaign that is almost certainly targeting the maritime industry to deliver remote access trojans (RATs). The campaign is likely financially motivated. It is likely the maritime industry will continue to be targeted with more convincing spearphishing emails in the long -term due to the readily available information about maritime vessels and the nature of the industry.
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