The Baltic and International Maritime Council (BIMCO)
What is BIMCO?
The Baltic and International Maritime Council (BIMCO) are the world’s largest independent organisation for the maritime industry. BIMCO plays a key role in setting standards and best practice for the maritime sector including commercial agreements, safety guidelines and security.
BIMCO performs a role in the regulation, representing members during discussions with legislative bodies – this ensures that there is often a clear overlap between BIMCO’s best practice recommendations and legal requirements.
Beyond their role in regulation and industry standards, BIMCO also acts as a hub for knowledge and training for the maritime industry at large, providing resources and support across the sector.
Given their large role in the maritime industry and the far-reaching consequences of their recommendations, what exactly does BIMCO have to say about maritime cyber security?
BIMCO Cyber Security
Given the increasing importance of cyber security within the sector, it is no surprise that BIMCO has become closely involved with setting industry standards. As an organisation, BIMCO has been championing the cause of strong maritime cyber security, consulting with both industry leaders and legislative bodies to encourage maritime organisations to strengthen their cyber security architecture.
While BIMCO has released some general statements and reports on the value of cyber security and what good cyber security looks like, their latest guidelines provide a clear, actionable approach to strengthening maritime cyber security.
BIMCO Cyber Security Guidelines
BIMCO recommends that maritime organisations are frequently moving through and repeating these steps to ensure that they are prepared for the current environment. Understanding and actioning these steps can be difficult, especially for those who do not have a background in cyber security, so it can be essential that you have someone on hand to help.
The 4th version of BIMCO’s Guidelines on Cyber Security Onboard Ships, is a comprehensive document providing a clear introduction to maritime cyber security, the vulnerabilities ships face and how to develop effective protection measures.
At a top level, BIMCO recommends the following processes:
- Identify Threats – understand the current internal and external cyber security threats posed to your operations.
- Identify Vulnerabilities – understand the weaknesses of all internal and external systems currently in use.
- Assess Risk Exposure – evaluate the likelihood of a vulnerability being exploited and the possible consequence of this exploitation (crew safety, financial liability etc.)
- Develop Protection and Detection Measures – remove or strengthen vulnerabilities to limit the chance and scale of any exploitation.
- Establish Response Plans – create comprehensive plans for when a cyber incident takes place and how to respond.
- Respond and Recover from Cyber Incidents – Action these plans and recover from any incidents. Review the effectiveness of these plans and adjust.
How Can Neptune Cyber Help?
We are a multidisciplinary team with experience in both cyber security and maritime operations. Our experience and knowledge allow us to provide dedicated and comprehensive maritime cyber security services.
Our no-nonsense approach will help you to action the recommendations of bodies like BIMCO and strengthen your overall cyber security setup for the future. All of our services have also been designed from the ground up to minimise their impact on your day-to-day operations.
If you have any questions about the services offered by Neptune Cyber, or if you’d like to know more about how we can help you comply with BIMCO’s guidelines, please get in touch with our team.