12th July 2017 - Award-winning global maritime cyber security awareness campaign, Be Cyber Aware at Sea, has collaborated with Fidra Films to launch a new film which aims to highlight the vital and increasing importance of cyber security across the maritime industry. NSSLGlobal, a global maritime satellite communications provider, has co-funded the film in partnership with Oil Companies International Marine Forum (OCIMF), The Standard Club and Teekay Shipping.
Designed not only for seafarers but also across the maritime industry, the freely-available film uses real-life case studies to highlight how easy it is for cybercriminals to target individual employees, who are often the weakest link in the security chain. A shocking 99% of cyber-attacks target people rather than IT infrastructure.
The film’s content has been deliberately created to be both educational and entertaining and easily shared via social media to help the message spread wider throughout the industry. It features multiple tips to help employees avoid being an easy target for cybercriminals. Andrea Cross, Partnerships Development Executive, at the Sailors’ Society has praised the film’s approach, saying: “I really like the film, it’s impactful, engaging and easy to understand, great jobMany people still fail to spot the signs of simple phishing emails and accidentally give away personal and company information to hackers via email or social media postings. Even something as simple as charging a smartphone to the USB socket on the ECDIS terminal could allow hackers to gain access to a vessels IT network, potentially affecting the vessel’s ability to safely navigate.
Sally-Anne Ray, CEO, NSSLGlobal commented: “The launch of this film is extremely timely. It follows the recent reports of the global Petya ransomware cyber-attack, which hit global shipping giant Maersk, to cause one of the biggest ever disruptions to global shipping. No-one is immune from the cyber threat and this film is an important initiative to not only raise awareness of the risks, but to help protect the industry from attack.”
Chris Young, Executive Producer at Fidra Films commented: “It is great to see the maritime industry coming together to tackle cyber security. All the feedback so far has been very positive and it is our hope that the film reaches as wide an audience as possible.”
Andrew Cassels, Director, OCIMF remarked: “This film starts to tackle the most vulnerable element of cyber protection, the human element. Educating our mariners is the first line of defence; they all work in social media with ease but need to understand how innocent actions can cause harm to wider networks and systems. Wide distribution of this film and the supporting material will start to prepare industry for the cyber challenges ahead.”
Carmen Plesch, Director IT, Teekay Shipping adds: “The film is fast paced and packed with practical information. By shooting it in the environment our seafarers work and live for weeks at a time, the film resonates deeply with this audience and it emphasizes the critical role everybody – ship and shore – has to play in protecting our informational assets and keep all of us safe.”
Capt Yves Vandenborn, Director of Loss Prevention at The Standard Club commented: “We are proud to have worked together with Chris and the other partners on the production of this cyber awareness video. Given the potential catastrophic consequences, we cannot stress enough the importance for ship owners and operators to take adequate measures to prevent cyber-attacks. We trust this video will be well received by the industry and will aid in raising awareness amongst seafarers and shore staff alike.”
Multiple partners have come together to help Fidra develop the content of this vital educational initiative, including JWC International, the CSOA, the City of Glasgow College and Samskip. Thefunding model for the development and production of this resource means that it will be made freely available to the industry.
The video is available on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DfEiMj7wAi4&feature=youtu.be
More information is available here: http://www.fidrafilms.com/cyber
Full licensing details are available here: http://www.fidrafilms.com/licensing
The BeCyberAwareAtSea campaign website is here: https://www.becyberawareatsea.com
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At a recent union-supported “Check Out Learning” campaign day, Susan signed up for a Basic IT course. Susan said, “I always wanted to know more about computers, but I didn’t have the confidence to go to a college by myself. My USDAW Union Learning Reps organised this course in store, which was supported by the Learning Fund through Scottish Union Learning.”
Susan started the course but soon felt out of her depth. She also felt like she was struggling to keep up with the other learners, a feeling she remembered all too well from school. A ULR in the store spoke with Susan and helped her to gain the confidence to speak with the tutor regarding her dyslexia, something she had kept secret for many years.
Ann Seagriff, USDAW Union Learning Rep, said, “We were happy to support Susan to overcome her struggles to be successful in this course. It involved a lot of encouragement, and sometimes a wee bit of a push, and we’re so proud that she’s got there in the end.”
The course tutor helped Susan to access software which helped her overcome the problems dyslexia caused on the course. Susan later bought her own laptop, and the software which helped her so much during the course is now an integral part of her life.
Susan said, “For years, I had to rely on my husband or my son to read something for me. Now I just scan my mail into the computer and can deal with it myself. It’s so much nicer not to have to rely on anyone else – what I’ve learned with the support of my union has completely changed my life.”
She continued, “It was quite a shock to hear that I was going to be named as the Learner of the Year. I’m so pleased and just hope that other learners out there are encouraged to take a chance like I did – it’s worth it!”