In the past, trucking companies thought of security mostly as protection from physical loss of products or equipment. Today, those are still threats, but cyber threats are on the rise. Cybercrime is one of the fastest-growing types of crimes in the world, and it’s not just limited to large retailers or financial service companies. Businesses of all sizes, including motor carriers and owner operators, face the risk of cyber loss.
With the rapid growth of the Internet of Things (IoT) and the number of connected devices in today’s world, motor carriers have become a target of cybercriminals. Even if you don't think it could happen to you, look around your operation. Your trucking company has likely implemented electronic logging devices, dashcams, and other connected devices, which are potential access points to your system, and you probably use emails and websites as well. The number of cybercrimes will almost certainly increase as the number of connected devices grows within fleets.
Today, email is the most common way that cyberattacks are perpetrated, with an estimated 85% of business hacking resulting from phishing. Unfortunately, many motor carriers lag behind in allocating resources to prepare for and defend against cybercrime.
So, what can the trucking industry and your company do to address this?
Customers of Acuity have access to a wide range of free cyber risk management information and resources through the Acuity e-RiskHub®. A simple registration at eriskhub.com/acuity is all that is required to gain access to these resources.
Additionally, cyber liability coverage should be an important part of a motor carrier's insurance and risk management strategy. As a liability coverage, cyber liability protects against third-party damages, costs of defense, settlement, and judgments. It is triggered by a network security event, such as a breach of third-party business data, an unintended propagation of malware, or a denial-of-service attack. Additionally, cyber liability can provide first-party coverage to reimburse a business for the costs it incurs, including data and systems restoration, business income, and public relations expenses.
The trucking industry has established a program called Fleet CyWatch to combat cybercrime in the industry.
According to Fleet CyWatch, "In today's environment, cyber adversaries target victims based on poorly secured systems and inexperienced employees to illegally access confidential and proprietary information, disrupt business operations, and leverage compromised systems for malicious purposes. Fleet CyWatch is used for reporting all types of Internet crimes related to disrupting fleet operations. Reports will be communicated with appropriate federal cyber-authorities to be handled by jurisdiction, type of cybercrime, and commercial/public impact. After protecting fleet identity, reports are communicated with intelligence sharing and analysis agencies and the fleet community registered to Fleet CyWatch."
According to Ken Craig, vice president of special projects for McLeod Software “Sometimes the point of vulnerability isn’t technology-based at all, but human-based. A hacker probing a company’s defenses were unable to find a weakness via the computer systems, so they called the company’s main phone line and went down the company directory until they found someone whose outgoing voicemail said they were on vacation for the next two weeks. They mimicked that employee’s voice and called the company’s IT help desk, saying they were having trouble logging in remotely, and got the access information needed.”
If a hacker penetrates a financial area of a company, such as their fuel program accounts, it can be difficult for a motor carrier to recover.
So, what can be done to begin the process of protecting your company from intrusion? The ATA held a panel discussion about cyber security offering several strategies to help prevent cyberattacks and mitigate their consequences, including:
To learn more about Acuity’s cyber coverage, contact your independent insurance agent.
References:
https://www.truckinginfo.com/341883/why-trucking-companies-need-to-plan-now-for-a-cyber-attack
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