Cyber risks: is the tide turning?


Andrew Hill, of Hill Dickinson, explores the cyber threats that are increasingly being faced by the shipping industry and considers whether, in view of these emerging risks, traditional insurance will cover losses arising from such risks


Cyber risks (ie those risks arising out of the use of technology and data) have become an everyday part of the risk landscape for most industry sectors. While the financial, health, retail and hospitality sectors (which have embraced technology for many years) have been particularly vulnerable to cyber attacks, the shipping industry appears to have been less affected. As the methods of attack become ever more sophisticated, however, and cyber attacks for political and terrorist objectives increase, is the shipping industry increasingly going to become a target?