Cybersecurity Risks Facing Modern Merchant Shipping in 2025

Ships increasingly function as floating IT/OT platforms — and in 2025 that connectivity brings both efficiency and heightened cyber risk. Recent industry surveys show organisations that adopt formal cyber risk management reduce incident rates substantially, yet many breaches still take months to identify and contain. For vessels at sea, delayed detection risks safety and continuity.

Primary threats include phishing-driven credential theft, supply-chain compromise, malware targeting legacy systems, and adversaries exploiting weak network segmentation to reach bridge or propulsion controls. NotPetya demonstrated how quickly malware can paralyse maritime operations; more subtle compromises of navigation or ballast systems have been reported but often go unpublicised.

Critical vulnerable systems are bridge/navigation equipment (ECDIS, GPS interfaces), propulsion and machinery control, cargo and tank management, and integrated communication links. The IMO’s MSC.428(98) (effective from 2021) requires cyber risk management within Safety Management Systems — auditors expect documented inventories, risk assessments, training records, detection capability and tested response plans.

Practical defence priorities for operators: 1) inventory and segment networks to separate OT from administrative systems, 2) implement strong access controls and multi-factor authentication for remote accounts, 3) enforce patching/maintenance programs where feasible and compensating controls where they are not, 4) deploy monitoring and logging with shore-based aggregation, and 5) exercise incident response through regular drills with clear roles (Master, Technical Lead, IT Coordinator). Backups must be offline-protected and restoration tested.

Regulatory compliance and insurance increasingly require evidence of these measures; cyber resilience is now a Safety Management responsibility. While threats evolve rapidly, disciplined risk management, trained crews and verified recovery procedures materially reduce operational risk and support safe, connected shipping in 2025.