The Next Safety Drill on Your Ship Should Be a Cyberattack

A ship today is a network with a hull. GPS spoofing, ransomware on the ECDIS, and phishing emails aimed at the purser's laptop are no longer hypothetical — they're logged incidents, and most crews have never drilled for one.

The weak point usually isn't the firewall — it's a USB stick from a port agent, or a crew member reusing a password across the ship's Wi-Fi and their bank app. Cyber discipline is as basic as a lifejacket check now.

Three habits cut most of the risk: never plug in unknown drives, verify unusual requests by voice or a second channel before acting on them, and keep OT systems (navigation, engine control) segregated from crew internet wherever the ship's IT policy allows.

Companies are starting to hire dedicated maritime cybersecurity officers — a genuinely new career lane bridging IT and seamanship. For anyone comfortable with both a chart and a command line, this is a growth path worth watching before it's crowded.