Rapid7 News

Once, the stars were all that mariners needed to navigate the seas. Today, maritime companies rely on hi-tech systems to operate and navigate equally hi-tech vessels. All of that comes with new and significant risks. On one side, automation has its benefits, especially as crews grew smaller and ships got bigger. On the flip side, however, marine technology, like most other technology, comes with its own risks. Today’s technologies often require Internet connectivity to function properly. A recent study by Boston-based security company Rapid7 found more than 100,000 devices – from traffic signal equipment to oil and gas monitors – were connected to the Internet using serial ports with inadequate security leaving them vulnerable to breaches or hacking.

The next hacker playground: the open seas - and the oil tankers and container vessels that ship 90 percent of the goods moved around the planet. In this internet age, as more devices are hooked up online, so they become more vulnerable to attack. As industries like maritime and energy connect ships, containers and rigs to computer networks, they expose weaknesses that hackers can exploit. Hackers recently shut down a floating oil rig by tilting it, while another rig was so riddled with computer malware that it took 19 days to make it seaworthy again…