U.S. Coast Guard Releases Cybersecurity Measures for Commercial Vessels

Original release date: July 8, 2019
The U.S. Coast Guard has released a Safety Alert with recommended cybersecurity best practices for commercial vessels. With a dynamic cybersecurity threat landscape and growing reliance on technology to support vessels, the maritime community can help strengthen their defenses by implementing the following basic cybersecurity measures:

• Implement network segmentation.
• Create network profiles for each employee, require unique login credentials, and limit privileges to only those necessary.
• Be wary of external media.
• Install anti-virus software.
• Keep software updated.

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) encourages vessel and facility owners and operators to review the U.S. Coast Guard’s Safety Alert 06-19 for additional information, see CISA’s Tip on Securing Network Infrastructure Devices, and implement the recommended cybersecurity measures.