ClassNK has released the ClassNK Cyber Security Approach, outlining the classification society’s basic approach to onboard cyber security around three core concepts – safeguarding navigational safety, promoting security through multiple layers of protection, and ensuring ongoing revisions and updates to technology systems.
Ensuring navigational safety is stated as the most important goal of onboard cyber security, and as such the Society proposes measures based on a balanced combination of physical, technical, and organisational approaches, such as designing ships and onboard equipment with security by design, and constructing management systems during service.
ClassNK says it will classify cyber security controls into different layers, and clarify what each stakeholder should do for each layer by adopting requirements from existing standards on cyber security that are applicable to ships.
The Society says that it also intends to propose a range of best practices in cyber security controls for ships in collaboration with cyber industry experts, and will publish guidelines and standards on a continuous basis that specify the parties responsible for implementing cyber security controls as part of the ‘ClassNK Cyber Security Series’.
ClassNK has also released its latest Guidelines for Designing Cyber Security Onboard Ships for newbuilding designs, targeting shipyards and shipowners. The guidelines include National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) security measures compiled for the US Government that can apply to ships, as well as the latest IACS recommendations.
As part of its ‘Cyber Security Series’, ClassNK says it will additionally be releasing a Cyber Security Management System for Ships that targets ship management, and Software Security Guidelines for vessel software in the near future.
