cyber environment is a BAD IDEA. As recommended by BIMCO, it may be essential to have an experienced third party to assess cyber security risks onboard ships.


The Ship Staff Ship Managing & Budgets


Almost all the merchant navy fleet comprises of a multi-vendor IT, OT and ICS environment; each vendor using hardware and software to accomplish assigned scope, with no bearing on scalability, overall compatibility or the existing and future security. With passage of time, vessels tend to significantly start looking different in networks and cabling to when they were delivered. Seldom are network plans updated, nor is there an inventory of the physical network paraphernalia nor of the software being used onboard. In a few ships where managers have been careful to implement some sort of order for the onboard IT, the control and integrity of maintained data is grossly erroneous and is often devoid of any OT and ICS elements.


Expecting the office IT team to understand the onboard


52 | The Report • September 2020 • Issue 93


How many readers have been receiving seemingly unrelated mails in their accounts? Mails declaring winners and asking for addresses of bank accounts to make deposits are not uncommon, however, casual social-media behavior is making targeted phishing relatively easy.


With the internet available to the crew all the time, fresh challenges have emerged in the already crowded security landscape – personalized mails, often quoting very private information are finding their way into individual mailboxes. Hardworking but poorly informed crew are finding their minds getting overwhelmed by these mails. The combination of hard-work and a disturbed mind can be lethal – for the crew as well as for the safety of the ship. Many companies have adopted a “responsible social media policy”, within the existing SMS documentation, which is a great idea, but hard to implement.


Let’s start at the beginning!


First things first – what is IT and what is OT?


To put it simply – software and hardware, where the output is data, such as communication by way of speech, text (email, records, accounts, etc) can be termed as Information Technology or IT. Onboard examples include onboard computers and accessories, emailing systems, calling systems, accounting systems, etc.


On the other hand, software and hardware, where the output is action (closing of valves, alarms, balancing power loads, etc.) can be termed as Operational Technology or OT. Onboard examples include ECDIS, Power Management, Integrated Automation System of engine (SCADA). Consider an air- conditioner, the thermocouple sensing the temperature of input air will regulate the start and stop of the compressor. Simple PLC (programmable logic controller) operation – code or firmware enabling this action is OT. Or take the example of a washing machine, where a sequence of events is controlled for the cycle selected – stop water, open soap, start rinsing and so on – all controlled by PLC code.


OT systems in the engine room are often referred to as ICS – Industrial Control Systems and are critical to shipboard operations.


While both IT and OT are using code (software), their outputs are different. What do we do when our laptop hangs? Most often than not we restart the machine, with windows autosaving our work, we can retrieve most of the data we are working on, however, OT systems are online and critical to the safety of the vessel. Can we simply restart the ECDIS or the steering gear, especially when in enclosed waters? Of course not, and hence the criticality of ensuring that these systems perform seamlessly each time and every time, ALWAYS.


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