Few people ever think of freight carriers as part of the tech industry. However, with how much high-tech gear they use, they might as well get listed alongside long-distance providers and Internet service companies. Modern trucking lines and railroads need everything from satellite uplink trackers to sophisticated encryption schemes. They even have to invest in large amounts of office software to keep tabs on their clients.
This makes them desirable targets for bad actors. Managers of every sort of shipper are encouraged to review this list and see if they could incorporate anything into their business. They could lessen the attack risk while improving their operations. In some cases, they could even reduce costs.
1. Upgrade Every Firewall
Digital firewalls are an absolute necessity for anyone doing business online. These programs filter incoming requests so people can’t just connect to remote servers. Without a firewall, every script kiddie on the web could read customer lists and check freight shipments nationwide. Companies that need a stronger firewall are encouraged to upgrade their current software. Boxed solutions and hardware-based security programs can go a long way toward keeping their operations private. Some better ones can even stop inside jobs by blocking specific outgoing requests.
2. Sign Up For Training Courses
A critical step in reducing vulnerability to cyber threats is fostering a culture of cybersecurity awareness within the organization. Freight companies that actively engage employees at all levels in understanding the importance of cybersecurity create an environment where vigilance becomes second nature. By prioritizing education, companies empower their workforce to act as a first line of defense, ultimately strengthening the security posture of the entire organization.
Many freight companies are increasingly sending their staffers back to school, at least figuratively. Supervisors at some of the biggest carriers have learned that various programs from professional organizations can help their personnel protect themselves against cyberattacks. Most of these programs are offered virtually, so even those with demanding schedules should be able to take them easily.
Interested parties are encouraged to contact traffic standards organizations to learn more about the educational opportunities available to them. Some progressive companies are involving their staffers in routine training programs covering more than cybersecurity-related issues.
3. Adopt Decentralized Infrastructure
Recently, an organization in Europe suffered an attack against an online portal. This should have taken the entire system down, but it didn’t because portions of the portal were in multiple virtual spaces. This segmentation protected the portal and stopped it from taking the entire nation’s services offline. When that happened, transportation authorities started to take notice worldwide.
Information technology department managers who have all their eggs in one digital basket should examine their current operations and see if they can better position materials in various partitioned storage locations so bad actors can’t seize control of them all at once. Traditional file system permissions may also help to stop some attacks like this.
Taking even a few measures can help secure transportation firms that are otherwise at risk for cyberattacks.
