The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has outlined plans to improve cybersecurity across the Maritime Transportation System (MTS). The department's goal is to protect the system and infrastructure used to ensure safe and secure navigation on America's waterways.
Ports are a vital part of the U.S. economy, contributing $649 billion to GDP and supporting 13 million jobs. The request for information will be used to help develop research aimed at assessing port infrastructure vulnerabilities.
The study will help develop a virtual “testbed” that researchers will use to test the port’s functionality and determine potential exploitable weaknesses in the systems. By identifying weaknesses, the MTS aims to mitigate and close the vulnerabilities.
Raising the stakes
Recently, Biden introduced a reference model Standard for port cybersecurityrequiring ports that failed to comply to make improvements. The executive order gave the U.S. Coast Guard more power in its response to cyberattacks and earmarked $20 billion to be invested in port infrastructure over the next five years.
The Department of Homeland Security commented: “Recent events have highlighted the fragile and complicated nature of the [maritime transportation system]as well as the primary, secondary and wider-reaching effects once a tragic interruption occurs.”
In 2023, a The port in Japan was closed In a Lockbit 3.0 ransomware attack that halted all shipping through the port for two days. Total losses were not disclosed, but the severe disruptions are said to have contributed to a “massive” financial cost.
Cybersecurity has has become a growing concern For government agencies on both sides, in the wake of Russia’s war in Ukraine, threat actors are looking to cause as much damage to infrastructure as possible. Malware attacks have become a common technique to gain influence over targets in order to disrupt operations. MTS’s research should strengthen the position of U.S. ports against malicious cyber operations.
Through The Registry
