Please join the Cyber Statecraft Initiative, under the Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security, on Friday, April 1, from 10:30 to 11:15 a.m. EDT for a virtual, public discussion about improving cybersecurity in the maritime domain. Few industries are as critical to the global economy as the maritime transportation system (MTS), which is responsible for the safe transport of both seafaring passengers and the vast majority of international trade. The efficient operation of the MTS is at risk, though, as the industry is increasingly vulnerable to cyber threats–in 2020, cyberattacks targeting the MTS increased by 400 percent in just a few months. Speakers at this event will discuss how to better secure the domain and properly focus government resources from both the United States and its partners and allies in an effort critical to securing the global economy.

This event features an esteemed cabinet-level panel including the Hon. Alejandro Mayorkas, the US Secretary of Homeland Security, and H.E. Dilan Yeşilgöz-Zegerius, the Minister of Justice and Security for the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The Hon. Karen Andrews MP, the Australian Minister for Home Affairs, will also make remarks, and the Cyber Statecraft Initiative’s own Mr. Kurt John, nonresident senior fellow with the program and Chief Cybersecurity Officer for Siemens USA, will moderate the discussion.

This event is a continuation of the Atlantic Council’s work on maritime cybersecurity, including the Cyber Statecraft Initiative’s Raising the Colors report and the issue brief Cybersecurity Concerns for the Energy Sector in the Maritime Domain, published jointly with the Atlantic Council’s Global Energy Center.

Opening remarks

Staff

Frederick Kempe

President and CEO

Europe & Eurasia German

Panelists

The Hon. Karen Andrews, MP
Minister for Home Affairs
The Commonwealth of Australia

The Hon. Alejandro Mayorkas
US Secretary of Homeland Security

H.E. Dilan Yeşilgöz-Zegerius
Minister of Justice and Security
The Kingdom of the Netherlands

Former fellow

Kurt John

Former Nonresident Senior Fellow

Cyber Statecraft Initiative Digital Forensic Research Lab

Cybersecurity Energy & Environment
Protecting the global marine transportation system against cyber threats

In-Depth Research & Reports Oct 4, 2021

Raising the colors: Signaling for cooperation on maritime cybersecurity

By William Loomis, Virpratap Vikram Singh, Dr. Gary C. Kessler, Dr. Xavier Bellekens

Few industries are as critical to the global economy as the maritime transportation system (MTS). However, the efficient operation of the MTS is at risk, as the industry is increasingly vulnerable to cyber threats. The MTS must work to raise its baseline for cybersecurity and better protect its actors from systemic cyber threats going forward.
Cybersecurity Maritime Security
Protecting the global marine transportation system against cyber threats

Issue Brief Dec 6, 2021

Cybersecurity concerns for the energy sector in the maritime domain

By Andy Bochman, Ian Ralby

As a wide spectrum of energy companies continue to rely on the maritime domain or even increase that reliance, they must be mindful that traditional maritime threats—like piracy, theft, and weather events—are not the only threats they face today. Maritime cybersecurity concerns are among the most potentially disruptive to energy-sector interests, and yet are among the least understood and addressed.
Cybersecurity Energy Transitions

The Atlantic Council’s Cyber Statecraft Initiative, under the Digital Forensic Research Lab (DFRLab), works at the nexus of geopolitics and cybersecurity to craft strategies to help shape the conduct of statecraft and to better inform and secure users of technology.

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