The yard is full, equipment works and staff are present. Yet the system cannot reliably identify or release containers. A digital problem has become physical: waiting trucks, stopped deliveries and customers demanding answers.
An operational exposure
IMO describes maritime cyber risk in terms that include operational, safety and security consequences when information or systems are compromised. Its website brings together relevant risk-management guidance. [1]
Specific legal duties depend on the business’s role and applicable rules; this article does not assign identical obligations to every forwarder. Its practical aim is to translate digital dependencies into operating decisions.
Separate three scenarios
First, internal systems become unavailable. Second, an essential technology supplier or logistics partner stops operating. Third, the system remains available but somebody alters instructions or misrepresents an identity.
TT Club also highlights cyber-enabled fraud that can misdirect goods or cause financial loss. An available platform does not necessarily mean a trustworthy process. [2]
Illustration: the warehouse works, the orders do not
An operator cannot access orders for eight hours. Partial local copies exist, but nobody knows which are current. Staff are tempted to clear the yard using judgement alone. An interruption could become a misdelivery.
Ask who can authorise manual working, which checks must remain mandatory and when service must stop. There is no universal shortcut: design and exercise the procedure beforehand. This is a hypothetical scenario, not a client incident.
Bring the insurance contracts together
Review cyber, professional liability and relevant cargo or operational policies against each scenario. Ask about the triggering event, exclusions, relevant interruption period, time deductibles, sublimits, third-party dependencies and arrangements for specialist assistance.
These are questions, not assurances that every item is available or insured. Full wording is needed to assess a response. Clarify any requirements for prior approval of expenditure before the emergency.
TARGA: exercise continuity
Select an essential process and simulate failure of its supporting system. Check access to contacts and necessary data, decision-making authority, and reconciliation of manual transactions once service returns. Involve IT, traffic, finance and management together.
Measure time to restore a reliable service, rather than time to restart a computer. Finish with a named owner, a workable alternative and a list of gaps to close.
Insurance can help with consequences. It cannot decide who opens the gate when the screen goes black.
Sources and references
- https://www.imo.org/en/ourwork/security/pages/cyber-security.aspx
- https://www.ttclub.com/loss-prevention/security/cyber-security/
General professional insight. Individual situations require a review of documents and specific circumstances.
Put these questions to work.
Start with your operations, contracts and policy wording.
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