Hackers on list,illogical logic behind

Reporter Cui Liande

Recently, the 2017 list was released and hackers ranked the 11th. That hackers getting on the list is an absolute surprise to the industry. From 2010 to 2012, the Lloyd’s List has continuously included Garaad Mohammed, a somali pirate representative, in the Top 100 Influential Figures in Shipping Industry which causes a lot of controversy in the industry. Similar to the impact of the Somali pirates on the shipping industry in those years, hackers demonstrated extraordinary attacking power in 2017 and shocked the industry. Their influence is great, however, their behavior is not only illegal, but also greatly harmful to the development of the industry.In this sense, the Lloyd’s List seems to be somewhat irrational and even illogical to award the honor to a gang of wrongdoers.

In recent years, there is no stop of warnings for hacker attacks on the shipping industry. In 2014, the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) even warned that shipping and supply chains may be the hackers’ next playground.However, the hacker's massive attacks on the shipping industry have not occured for some time. When people begin to get used to the warning signs of “the wolf is coming,” wolves appear unexpectedly leaving us with heavy losses.

On June 28, 2017, Maersk Line was hacked. As a result,its computer network systems at various offices and some business segments have failed. Services such as online booking were disrupted and some of the terminal business was once forced to close down. It is reported that this network attack has caused a total loss of 250～300 million U.S. dollars. On November 29, Clarkson was also hacked by an unauthorized visitor who attempted to illegally enter the company’s computer system to steal customer data. Hackers are already demonstrating its power to the shipping industry brazenly. From this perspective, that hackers was listed seems unexpected but is reasonable.In other words, the Lloyd’s List is warning the industry in a peculiar way that hackers have become a potential threat that should not be ignored in the development of the shipping industry today. Its destructive power may be beyond our imagination.

Some experts have warned that the shipping industry currently has two major problems in network security.On one hand, some enterprises have not adapted to the rapid development of information technology in terms of safety awareness, management requirements and system construction. On the other hand, the update of the hardware, systems and virus defense software used in some ships is slow and the ship's network equipment is not properly maintained, thus resulting in a weak foundation for ship safety.