Software Integrity News

ABS executives informed the industry conversation at Singapore Maritime Week, with presentations on the growing cyber security threat to maritime, new opportunities to take advantage of data, and the huge potential of LNG shipping for the region. Speaking at the Singapore Maritime Cyber Security Seminar, ABS Chief Digital Officer, Howard Fireman highlighted the opportunities and challenges presented by the ever-increasing connectivity of maritime assets. “The cyber threat is real to maritime safety, making it a relevant issue that ABS must address.

It is not business as usual in the world where we do business. Things are changing. Even regulations themselves are changing from less prescriptive in nature to more performance-based. As Chairman, President and CEO of a global classification and technology-centric company that operates in 70 countries with 5,000 employees, I am continually assessing the impact of these changes on the capabilities ABS needs to fulfill its mission and maintain its leadership position in the maritime, offshore and government industries it serves. To know where we are heading, we have to know where we began.

ABS has issued the first Integrated Software Quality Management (ISQM) Product Design Assessment (PDA) Certificate in the Asia-Pacific region for Industrial Control Systems software to Singapore-based Excel Marco, a solutions provider for process automation and safety systems for the marine and offshore industries. The SPCP assess 81 requirements and best practices to improve delivered software quality and integrity. Excel Marco is ISO 9001: 2015 certified, so implementing the SPCP process is straightforward because it takes a similar approach to software integrity assessments. Policies and procedures are reviewed, and personnel are interviewed to ensure compliance to policy.

The maritime industry is becoming more connected – at sea, on land and in between. This trend has given rise to a cyber-enabled fleet that continues to adopt greater levels of automation and operational complexity. For the end user, the benefits of modern shipping are multiple. For the ship owner or operator, however, every incremental advance of technology creates new entry points for risk. In this hyper-connected era, defending against the introduction of new risks as technology changes demands a recommitment to systems engineering and…

Global shipping and offshore oil and gas operations are increasingly dependent on integrated networks, based on various software and data transfer solutions. Systems and equipment onboard are interconnected, monitored and controlled through an onboard automation network. Onboard systems are increasingly also connected ashore to the owners’ or technology providers’ control centers. Equipment manufacturers want to remotely upgrade the software of their systems and monitor their use to be able to optimize operations and to scheduled needed maintenance service.

Since its founding in 1862, the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS), a New York registered not-for-profit corporation, has been committed to setting standards for safety and excellence as one of the world’s leading classification societies. Today, ABS brings together the latest technical solutions and best-in-class services to meet the growing regulatory, safety and environmental stewardship needs of its members and clients. With nearly 4,000 employees operating in 200 offices across 70 countries around the world…

DNV GL, a ship and offshore classification society and technical risk service providers, has acquired Marine Cybernetics, a company for third-party testing of computer control systems. The acquisition expands DNV GL’s scope of services in the offshore and maritime industries. Marine Cybernetics was established in 2002 as a spin-off from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU). Based in Trondheim, Norway, the company introduced the concept of Hardware-In-the Loop-Testing (HIL) to the maritime and offshore industries.

Increased Internet and remote connectivity to offshore assets has exposed industrial control systems to targeted attacks and vulnerabilities previously obscured. Remote monitoring, remote upgrades, Internet connections and the complexity/criticality of the systems in general on Drillships, FPSO’s, Semisubmersibles and other highly valuable assets potentially facilitate targeted attacks and cyber assaults on Dynamic Positioning, Drilling Control, BOP and other control systems. ABS Group is directly responding to these threats by offering standards based security assessments specifically for newbuilds, operating assets and retiring assets, performed by certified security practitioners with offshore experience.

“With the diagnostics and remote access that is being built into our rigs now, it is really important that software integrity is flawless,” said CEO Ivar Brandvold of Fred. Olsen Energy ASA. “Our analysis indicates that applying the ISDS class notation can easily save USD 6-20 million by avoiding the delays caused by the need to re-work software,” said Rolf Benjamin Johansen, the director of operations at software integration for DNV maritime and energy. “In fact, this range is conservative as it does not include avoided costs. Being on schedule avoids propagating supply-chain costs and loss of brand reputation. The ISDS notation focuses on how to set up and run a project and how to develop quality assurance processes that will last throughout the vessel’s lifetime.