Trucking firms using telematics and real-time reporting systems warned to put in place cyber security measures.
Telematics and the use of real-time systems may be a boon for many transporters, but they are being warned to be wary of potential cyber risks stemming from the use of interconnected technologies.
Insurance firm Zurich says transport companies could be exposed to a number of cyber threats due to an increasing reliance on internet-based infrastructure to manage their operations.
It says more and more companies are using telematics to improve fleet utilisation and efficiency, and running programs that collect, upload, document and monitor working hours and the despatch and consignment of goods in real-time.
The firm’s senior risk engineer, Mervyn Rea, says all the data generated can be vulnerable to cyber attack and that additional safeguards should be taken to avoid fraudulent or unintentional loss of critical data.
“Losing vital data for truck and goods movements, driver hours and engine diagnostics has the potential to cause anything from minor disruptions to major incidents and can create significant reputational concerns with the customers of haulage companies,” Rea says.
He cites the growth in online shopping for spurring a growing dependence on real-time track and trace technology and highlights the potential pitfalls a business faces from a cyber attack.
“If a business was to lose that data through a cyber attack the fallout could affect future business and be damaging to the brand and reputation of the transportation part of the delivery cycle,” he says.
The loss of secured data could also lead to companies facing severe liabilities for security breaches that lose customer or employee data or valuable intellectual property, according to Rea.
He says existing risk management approaches mostly focus on a company’s internal servers and firewalls, not external threats.
“Counterparties, outsourcing or contractual partners and supply chains all have access and the ability to cause major disruptions that could have a catastrophic result,” Rea says.
Zurich executive Khoder Chehadesays says transport companies should not be afraid to embrace technology but should have cyber security systems in place.
“Risk management planning should look beyond the four walls of the business and extend to include external counterparties,” Chehadesays says.
The comments came following the release of a new report from Zurich, Beyond Data Breaches: Global Interconnections of Cyber Risk.
The study looks at the advancement of technology and says estimating the true cost of a cyber attack is largely unknowable.
The report identifies categories of risk ranging from internal IT malfunctions and illegal entry to widespread external attacks to internet infrastructure that could be felt globally.
Earlier this year, Data Breach Today found that institutional data breaches were on the rise and posed a serious risk to businesses.
It found 2013 was the worst year for theft of private data, with 740 million data files potentially viewed or stolen worldwide.