IMO Cyber Security Risk Management Guide

The IMO is a United Nations agency which is responsible for improving the safety and security of international shipping. The IMO provides guidance to governments and shipping companies, to ensure that they are following guidelines and legislation on international shipping.

While the IMO does not enforce legislation, they do audit the performance of governments in enforcing the laws and provide advice on how to improve.

The IMO is a critical international body for setting international standards and practices for shipping and their guidelines can create the foundation for new legislation from member states. Click here to visit the IMO site and find out more about their function.

The “Guidelines on Maritime Cyber Risk Management” set broad recommendations and best practice steps for improving the overall cyber security of maritime vessels and organisations.

The guidelines can be summarised as follows:

• Identify risks in all assets, systems and personnel.
• Protect your assets by implementing risk control measures and planning.
• Detect malicious intrusions with pro-active activities and review of systems.
• Respond to intrusions with frameworks and plans to return your systems to function and limit the impact.
• Recover from malicious attacks with effective back-ups and restoration of your systems.

These guidelines are generalised but far reaching, which can make them difficult to understand and implement for maritime organisations. We have developed an interactive guide to help you to understand the risks that vessels can face and outlined how the IMO’s guidelines can apply to each.

Click here to explore our virtual guide.

The IMO’s guidelines have been provided for interpretation and potential enforcement by member governments, meaning that you may have to comply in order to operate within certain areas.

Beyond any legal requirements to comply, the guidelines also set a strong basis for improving your vessel’s cyber security in an environment where malicious cyber attacks are increasing. Improving the cyber security of your vessels and organisation will help to protect you from the risks posed to your assets, finances and personnel.

At Neptune Cyber, we take a no-nonsense approach to maritime cyber security to help you test, evaluate and improve your cyber security. Our maritime cyber security services will help to make sure that you fully comply with the IMO’s guidelines, while also taking additional steps to protect your operations.