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TT Club exposes vulnerability of global supply chain to cyber attacks

ALEXIS Cahalan, formerly of the TT Club, now with Sydney-based Thomas Miller Law, has added her voice to growing concerns that the logistics and freight forwarding community is vulnerable to malicious cyber activity.

"Operations which are characterised by widespread office networks; reliance on multiple third-party suppliers; IT systems predominantly of an in-house, legacy nature, which are poorly protected by security software; and a lack of open communication and reporting of damaging past cyber experiences, are common within the global logistics community," Ms Cahalan told delegates attending last month's Trans-Pacific Asia Conference in Shenzhen, China.

"These characteristics lead to greater risk,' she emphasised.

Her conference paper, entitled 'Cyber Risk: Protecting Your Assets from Invisible Attack' referenced the recent "not Petya" incident as proof that the risk of cyber attack is now a reality which needs to be seriously addressed by all stakeholders in the transport supply chain.

"There is a case for employing a corporate culture of risk management to assess these vulnerabilities within individual companies and to develop a response framework with this in mind," Ms Cahalan advised.

Risks are increasing rapidly not just in terms of greater hacking and malware activity. The desire for supply chain visibility and efficiencies is driving technologies, such as Internet of Things (IoT) and access through smart phones. There is a danger that rapid adoption of such technology means many companies have yet to consider thoroughly the cyber security implications of 'bring your own device' (BYOD) procedures.

"Employee awareness of the potential dangers of day-to-day activities will help with cyber defences. Trust in email communication, auto-connect Wi-Fi settings and password protocols, peripheral equipment and flash drives, computers in general, should all be monitored and reviewed," concluded Ms Cahalan.