In October 2025 I attended India Maritime Week 2025, the maritime sector gathering organised by the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, to look at one question in particular: how seriously is the maritime industry taking cybersecurity?
Why we go to industry events as listeners
Not every event is a speaking engagement. Some are for walking the floor, reading what vendors are actually selling, and hearing what operators worry about when they are not on a panel. For a firm that trains and advises on maritime cyber risk, that ground truth matters more than another slide deck.
What the sector is dealing with
Ports and shipping have digitised quickly: automated terminals, port community systems, connected navigation and engine-room systems, and a supply chain of agents, customs brokers and logistics providers all exchanging data. The attack surface now stretches from a ship’s bridge to a terminal operating system ashore.
- Operational technology afloat and ashore: navigation, cargo handling and crane control systems that were never designed for connectivity.
- GPS jamming and spoofing: increasingly reported in contested waters, with direct consequences for safe passage.
- Supply chain exposure: a single compromised agent or vendor can reach many operators.
- People: crews and terminal staff who rarely receive cyber awareness training built for their environment.
In shipping, a cyber incident is a safety incident. That is what makes this sector different.
It is encouraging that cyber risk is now part of the maritime conversation rather than a specialist side-track. The work ahead is turning that awareness into training and controls that reach the bridge and the quayside, not just the head office.
If this is your sector, our maritime cybersecurity training is built for exactly these teams, and our lecture for cadets at Indian Maritime University covers where it starts.
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